+PAX

If God allowed me to pass on only three things to others they would
be the Divine Mercy, the Morning Offering and devotion to the Holy
Souls, in that order. That explains my shameless re-run of this All
Souls' Day post.

First, a great quote:

"We must not make purgatory into a flaming concentration camp on the
brink of hell, or even a hell for a short time. It is
blasphemous to think of it as a place where a petty God exacts the
last pound or ounce of flesh.... St. Catherine of Genoa, a
mystic of the 15th century, wrote that the fire of purgatory
is God's love burning the soul so that, at last, the soul
is wholly aflame. It is the pain of wanting to be made totally
worthy of One who is seen as infinitely lovable, the pain of desire
for union that is now
absolutely assured, but not yet fully tasted" (Leonard Foley,
O.F.M., Believing in Jesus)

I beg the indulgence [now that is neither a Freudian slip nor a
pun!!] of all our readers to who belong to traditions which do not
believe in prayers for the dead. Given today's feast and the
content, this is going to be a very Catholic message, but we have
many Catholics in our midst, some of whom could well need to hear it.

For Catholics in union with Rome, Purgatory is a defined dogma, a
reality we cannot deny. How it happens, how long the purification
and cleansing lasts, these matters are less clear, but we have not,
as a Church abandoned the concept of Purgatory, nor could we. It is
de Fide, a permanent fixture of Catholic faith. It could be a flash
of brilliance in a twinkling, as is fashionable today to hope, but
it could be otherwise, too. We simply do not know and
our wishes in the matter, however charitable, are not normative!

We also believe that in the cleansing, however brief or long, the
soul has lost all ability to help itself. Help can come only from
our prayers and those of the Church on earth for the Church
Suffering, the Holy Souls. Hence, ANY assistance given them is held
by them in literally eternal gratitude. Their prayers of
intercession, I KNOW, from my own personal experience over years,
are very, very powerful with God. I have never had them refuse me
any good thing. Never.

I often think that their gratitude is even greater these days, when
so many Catholics have abandoned the practice of praying for them
or offering good works or indulgences for them. If you have a heart
for the underdog and neglected, for Heaven's sake (literally!!) take
another look at praying for the Holy Souls who await their final
entry to Heaven. Prayer for them is a work of mercy you can do any
day, at any time. Corporal works of mercy sometimes may be out of
our means or scope, but spiritual ones, never so!

So yes, this day there is a special urgency, but every year, every
day, stop forgetting the Holy Souls if you have been doing so in
the past. They are great friends to have and they need us so badly.
We can make the daily intention to gain all the indulgences we can
that day and offer them for the Souls. What a great good is offered
us to undertake every day.

Now, though you were all forewarned, this part is REALLY Roman
Catholic. A plenary (full) indulgence, applicable only to the Holy
Souls, may be gained by those who under the usual conditions and
having gone to Confession and Communion, visit a cemetery and say
there some prayer of any kind for the Holy Souls. This indulgence
may be gained on the feast itself and daily for 7 days thereafter.
Go for it!

If you have never tried the practice of saying a prayer for those
buried in every cemetery you pass, do so. I confess that I didn't
do that for most of my life, but I do now and it has become a
practice very dear to me. I got my first good example of it when
riding with the late Fr. Ernest Schultz of Saint Leo Abbey, himself
a convert. He used to bless the graves in cemeteries as we drove
past. I never forgot his example, but I am ashamed to say how long
it took for me to follow it regularly.

Last, but not least, a simple prayer, said to have been given to
our own St. Gertrude the Great, OSB! The revelation apparently is
contested by some as unverifiable, but I am willing to hope on the
side of mercy. Jesus is reputed to have told her that 1,000 souls
would be released for each repetition of this prayer, hence it is
sometimes known as the 1,000 Souls Prayer. It is one of my
favorites.

Eternal Father, I offer You the most precious Blood of Your Divine
Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world
today for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

It is short, sweet and easily memorized!

Love and prayers,
Jerome, OSB




   ----- Original Message -----
   From: Br. Jerome Leo
   To: benedictinemonasticdiurnal@yahoogroups.com ; holyrule ; rcb ; mona
   Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2012 9:09 AM
   Subject: Holy Rule for Oct. 29


   +PAX

   Prayers, please, for the eternal rest of 2 children killed by their nanny, for
their parents and family and all who mourn them, and for the nanny's conversion
and repentance.

   Prayers for the spiritual and tamporal welfare of the following, for all their
loved ones and all who take care of them:

   Richard and all the Oblates of Immaculate Conception Monastery, Ferdinand, IN,
who renewed their oblation. It is Richard's tenth anniversary of Oblation.

   Stacey and Rachel, both suffered miscarriages.

   Ashely and Jessica, both expecting, for safe pregnancies and deliveries.

   Prayers for the safety of all in the path of Hurricane Sandy, special prayers
for us at Petersham, that we sustain no damage and keep our power on.

   Lord, help us all as You know and will. God's
   will is best. All is mercy and grace. God is never absent, praise
   Him! Thanks so much. JL


   February 28, June 29, October 29
   Chapter 22: How the Sisters Are to Sleep

   Let each one sleep in a separate bed. Let them receive bedding
   suitable to their manner of life, according to the Abbess's
   directions. If possible let all sleep in one place; but if the
   number does not allow this, let them take their rest by tens or
   twenties with the seniors who have charge of them.

   A candle shall be kept burning in the room until morning.

   Let them sleep clothed and girded with belts or cords -- but not
   with their knives at their sides, lest they cut themselves in their
   sleep -- and thus be always ready to rise without delay when the
   signal is given and hasten to be before one another at the Work of
   God,
   yet with all gravity and decorum.

   The younger shall not have beds next to one another, but among
   those of the older ones.

   When they rise for the Work of God let them gently encourage one
   another, that the drowsy may have no excuse.


   REFLECTION

   Hastening "yet will all gravity and decorum" has prompted many a
   community joke, many a wry comment as one ran most ungracefully,
   parts of the habit flapping wildly in the breeze, to whatever the
   bell was about to make one late for! St. Benedict far antedates the
   Three Stooges, but he still took precautions to ensure that we
   would not look EXACTLY like Moe, Larry and Curly when we went to
   choir or dinner! Admittedly, some of our human tendency still
   arises to give a partial glimpse of that comedic trio, but, as
   always, the picture is balanced!

   As for the candle, the elderly may have problems during the
   night if their health is declining. Hale and hearty (and hopefully
   easily awakened!) juniors nearby promise them assistance, if
   needed. However, if you want a humorous take on the knives issue,
   it may
   have been to prevent mayhem and murder of the snorers, an idea
   which has doubtlessly occurred to many light sleepers!

   Of course, dormitory sleeping is a thing of the past in our Order
   today, but its nice to see the thoughtfulness behind its original
   expression in the Holy Rule. There's a bit of the "mother" in St.
   Benedict, going out of his way to mention a small detail like not
   sleeping with knives. It is worthy of note, however, that St.
   Benedict, as always is MODERATELY maternal, not neurotically so! He
   doesn't get all bent out of shape, but he cares greatly and deeply.

   One of the most beautiful images in this passage is the exhortation
   to "gently encourage one another" at the hour of rising. Remember
   that the strictest silence of all prevailed at this time. Now
   picture the monastics gently encouraging one another! With no
   words, there
   had to be a lot of touch, a lot of gentle smiles, a lot of warmth
   and care expressed NON-verbally.

   There is a particularly good suggestion for Oblates: practice
   showing non-verbal affection some time! Try to express your care,
   concern and camaraderie for those around you with smiles, winks,
   pats on the back and such. Not ALL the time, but hone this skill. A
   wordless message of praise or solidarity or love can be treasured
   by another, often much more than what we might have said.

   A very good idea of how loving a monastic is can be had by
   disturbing their silence (or sleep, I imagine!!) Is the reaction
   cross and withering? Watch out for that one! Is there a smile, even
   a warm one, a reaction of sweetness? Well, when silence is over,
   that is a monastic to whose words you may want to listen carefully.


   Love and prayers,
   Jerome, OSB
   http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
   Petersham, MA





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

+PAX

Prayers, please, for the spiritual and temporal welfare of the folliwng, for all
their loved ones and all who take care of them:

Barbara Anne, it seems to be a disc problem in her neck, radiating pain down her
right shoulder and right arm. The disc may be ruptured and impinging on the
nerve that leads all the way to her right hand. It's not a constant pain at this
time, but intermittent, and wakes her up at night.

Marianne, 88, who has been incapacitated by a crippling stroke for many months,
and now has pneumonia and congestive heart failure, and has just been placed in
the care of Hospice. For a happy death whenever God calls her. Please pray also
for her two remaining sisters, Janet and Joyce, and for all her family.

Deo gratias and prayers of thanks for Veronica, for whom we prayed re her
cancer. It was found that there were no other cancer spots in her body apart
from the tumour on her lung which has now been successfully removed. She is so
grateful for all prayers... thanks too from her family.

Lord, help us all as You know and will. God's will is best. All is mercy and
grace, God is never absent, praise Him! Thanks so much. JL

March 4, July 4, November 3
Chapter 27: How Solicitous the Abbot Should Be for the
Excommunicated

Let the Abbot be most solicitous in his concern for delinquent
brethren, for "it is not the healthy but the sick who need a
physician" (Matt 9:12) And therefore he ought to use every means
that a wise physician would use. Let him send senpectae, that is,
brethren of mature years and wisdom, who may as it were secretly
console the wavering brother
and induce him to make humble satisfaction; comforting him that he
may not "be overwhelmed by excessive grief" (2 Cor. 2:7), but that,
as the Apostle says, charity may be strengthened in him (2 Cor.
2:8). And let everyone pray for him.

For the Abbot must have the utmost solicitude and exercise all
prudence and diligence
lest he lose any of the sheep entrusted to him. Let him know that
what he has undertaken is the care of weak souls and not a tyranny
over strong ones; and let him fear the Prophet's warning through
which God says, "What you saw to be fat you took to yourselves, and
what was feeble you cast away" (Ezec. 34:3,4). Let him rather
imitate the loving example of the Good Shepherd who left the ninety-
nine sheep in the mountains
and went to look for the one sheep that had gone astray, on whose
weakness He had such compassion that He deigned to place it on His
own sacred shoulders and thus carry it back to the flock (Luke 15:4-
5).


REFLECTION

This is the chapter that makes the entire penal code (as it is
usually termed,) of the Holy Rule clear. The Abbot (or parent
or teacher or boss or spouse,) is actually called to exercise super
concern for the fallen. Hence, it is clear that the whole purpose
of punishment in the Holy Rule is only to heal, to reform. It is an action
of great hope, not a cop out of exclusion, not simply writing a person
off because of the difficulties presented.

How often do we "punish" another, or even ourselves, as a means of
write-off, of abdication of our responsibility to love? Both the
Gospel and St. Benedict teach us that is wrong, it is not a
Christian response and not at all the way we should "conveniently"
unload ourselves of a troubled human being in our lives.

All of us charged with the care of others must pay close attention
to this chapter. It is so easy to love the "perfect" child or the
whiz kid student. It is so easy to heap acceptance and confident
affirmation on the types of employees who least need it, while the
strugglers and the strays have their feelings of inferiority
confirmed. People of any age quite often stoop to the level that
others expect of them. We must offer them the best chance we can to
do and be all that they can.

The world will offer all the empty praise that is necessary to the
successful. It is the shallow way of the world to do so. Christians
and monastics, however, are called to be OTHER than the world.
There has to be something topsy-turvy in the way we love that
becomes puzzlingly apparent. We have to love the underdog, even
when the underdog is driving us slowly nuts. This doesn't mean we
don't love the holy and good ones, it means we never, never fail to
love the plodders. It means that we always remember that we are
plodders
in many ways ourselves.

Love and prayers,

Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

+PAX

Prayers, please for all suffering after hurricane Sandy.

Prayers for Eileen, who has been in and out hospital a lot this year 7 times in
fact. Was being being treated for major heart blockages but thank God that is
not the case but has now a bladder infection plus many other ailments and is
very weak. She is 82 has raised 15 children and has been a widow for 42 years.
For strength and that if God calls her for a happy death and peaceful end.

Prayers for Sheila and Chip - their young son Joe and a baby girl due the
beginning of December. Chip got a very rough diagnosis - cancer in a lot of
places in his body - oncology report early next week will determine prognosis -
He's very young - 31 - and soon to be the father of two -- so hoping for the
best possible outcome - or something better!

Prayers for a young man who has suffered a stroke.

Prayers for Zeph, awaiting a prison sentence, requsted by his aunt. His mother
needs prayers to find God.

Lord, help us all as You know and will. God's will is best. All is mercy and
grace. God is never absent, praise Him! Thanks so much. JL

Nov. 4
Chapter 28: On Those Who Will Not Amend after Repeated Corrections

If a sister who has been frequently corrected for some fault, and
even excommunicated,
does not amend, let a harsher correction be applied, that is, let
the punishment of the rod be administered.

But if she still does not reform or perhaps (which God forbid) even
rises up in pride and wants to defend her conduct, then let the
Abbess do what a wise physician would do.
Having used applications, the ointments of exhortation, the
medicines of the Holy Scriptures, finally the cautery of
excommunication and of the strokes of the rod, if she sees that her
efforts are of no avail, let her apply a still greater remedy, her
own prayers and those of all the others, that the Lord, who can do
all things may restore health to the sister who is sick.

But if she is not healed even in this way, then let the Abbess use
the knife of amputation,
according to the Apostle's words, "Expel the evil one from your
midst" (1 Cor. 5:13),
and again, "If the faithless one departs, let her depart" (1 Cor.
7:15) lest one diseased sheep contaminate the whole flock.

REFLECTION

The Holy Rule and its author, St. Benedict, are tremendously kind,
insisting that we go all the way we possibly can and even a bit
beyond with the erring. All that love and care and sorely tried
patience is absolutely necessary before this point, "the knife of
amputation," is reached. This, too, is a great and important part
of mercy, though we may not easily see that at first.

There are times when nothing is left but, as AA would put it, to
let that person hit bottom. Even that may or may not work, but we
sometimes have nothing else to apply. To continue forbearance at
such a time is merely to enable, to actually participate in the
person's self-destruction. Al Anon could tell you a lot about the
wisdom of enabling.

This is so hard for us, to finally, seemingly "give up" on someone.
In truth, we never do that. We still pray, we must, but we must
also have the humility to admit that we no longer can be of useful
help, that we are even likely to harm further by enabling. That is
an affront to
our natural pride: we OUGHT to be able to heal ANYTHING, ANYONE...
Sigh... But we aren't. We are also wounded, also imperfect.

St. Benedict is NOT saying to give up on the person- I still pray
for people who left decades ago and probably should have done so. I
have no idea where they are or what they're doing, but I do know
the monastery didn't seem to be the place that was most helpful to
them, nor were they particularly a gift to the community.

What St. Benedict is saying is that we must have the wisdom and
humility to finally stop trying things that don't work, for the
good of all concerned, including ourselves. When this point is
reached, no one can help but God. He can always do so.
Fix what you can, stop making it worse by enabling
and pray for the rest.

Love and prayers,

Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

+PAX

Prayers for the eternal rest of my Dad, Jerome, who would have been 100 today.
He died when he was only 47.

Please continue to remember in your prayers all those without heat, water, food,
gas, or shelter in those States still not receiving help in the aftermath of
Hurricane Sandy.

Please pray for Rose who has liver disease caused by Hep C. She was supposed to
start treatment for it this week, but the doctor discovered an infection in the
knee she had replaced 18 months ago, so that has to be cleared up before
treatment can begin. Rose is upset and depressed by all of this, so needs
prayers for healing of her mind, heart and soul as well as her body.

Deo Gratias. Trey received some good news yesterday about the ramp that will be
needed for Trey. Trey will be coming home Thursday. The people from the Spinal
Cord Commission are going to donate the materials AND build it!

Prayers for John, colonoscopy this Monday and Anne, major surgery next week to
close her mucous fistula and wound.

Stephen, who faithfully asks prayers here for many others, now needs them
himself: he is in the hospital with cardiac arrhythmia and tachycardia, stress
induced.

Lord, help us all as You know and will. God's will is best. All is mercy and
grace. God is never absent, praise Him! Thanks so much. JL

March 6, July 6, November 5
Chapter 29: Whether Brethren Who Leave the Monastery Should Be
Received Again

If a brother who through his own fault leaves the monastery should
wish to return, let him first promise full reparation for his
having gone away; and then let him be received in the lowest place,
as a test of his humility. And if he should leave again, let him be
taken back again, and so a third time; but he should understand
that after this all way of return is denied him.


REFLECTION

There are variant readings of the first line of this chapter among
manuscripts. Some authorities accept the additional phrase "or is
expelled", though the RB1980 translation does not. As with so many
things this ancient, it is hard to tell who is right (and
sometimes, if that matters!) I checked in the library downstairs,
but I can't find our autographed first edition of the Holy Rule
anywhere... LOL!

However, let's err on the side of mercy if we are to err at all.
Since most modern translations omit the phrase, let's take a look
at the other possibility: what if it really was what St. Benedict
had in mind?

If so, it reveals a mercy and love and tenderness beyond anything
we have ever seen in the Holy Rule. If, even after all the hassle
that can occur before one actually gets thrown out one could STILL
be forgiven, and up to three times, that is very great mercy
to say the least. Still, it is a very consistent reading with the
penal code that precedes it. If the only reason for Benedictine
punishment is reform and conversion, then even the ultimate
punishment of expulsion might have a hook of possible conversion
to it.

From this perspective, let us look at ourselves for a moment. How
do we "punish" people or banish them from our lives and hearts? I
use quotes around "punish" to stress the lunacy that very often
such "punishments" harm no one but ourselves. We decide, once and
for all that this or that person has had it. End of story. Well, if
one reads the Holy Rule carefully, there MAY be an "end of story"
point for Benedictines, but it does not come as often or as early
or as readily as some of us might think and we must be saddened if
it does come!

Face it, a lot of us think of punishment is about us, not the
offender. It is OUR "justice" that gets fed, that makes demands,
that says we are done with the problem person. Whoa! If God's ideas
are anything like that (and we daily ask Him to use our standards of
mercy in the Our Father,) we are in deep, deep trouble. Our
punishments must have an eye to reform, not revenge, to conversion,
not conclusion. Permanent rifts, as even the Rule allows, may
sometimes occur, but our attitude then should be sadness, not joy.
And always, always and everywhere, we must pray for such people. Never give
up on prayer for them.

Love and prayers,
Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

+PAX

Prayers, please, for the spiritual and temporal welfare of the following, for
all their loved ones and all who take care of them:

Charlene, very worried and going to the doctor, prayers it is nothiong serious
and that she finds out today.

Larry, having a knee replacement.

Audrey, working claims adjustment in devastated areas of NY, and for all those
affected there.

Lord, help us all as You know and will. God's will is best. All is mercy and
grace, God is never absent, praise Him! Thanks so much JL

March 8, July 8, November 7
Chapter 31: What Kind of Man the Cellarer of the Monastery Should Be

As cellarer of the monastery
let there be chosen from the community
one who is wise, of mature character, sober,
not a great eater, not haughty, not excitable,
not offensive, not slow, not wasteful,
but a God-fearing man
who may be like a father to the whole community.


Let him have charge of everything.
He shall do nothing without the Abbot's orders,
but keep to his instructions.
Let him not vex the brethren.
If any brother
happens to make some unreasonable demand of him,
instead of vexing the brother with a contemptuous refusal
he should humbly give the reason
for denying the improper request.

Let him keep guard over his own soul,
mindful always of the Apostle's saying
that "he who has ministered well
will acquire for himself a good standing" (1 Tim. 3:13).


Let him take the greatest care
of the sick, of children, of guests and of the poor,
knowing without doubt
that he will have to render an account for all these
on the Day of Judgment.


Let him regard all the utensils of the monastery
and its whole property
as if they were the sacred vessels of the altar.
Let him not think that he may neglect anything.
He should be neither a miser
nor a prodigal and squanderer of the monastery's substance,
but should do all things with measure
and in accordance with the Abbot's instructions.

REFLECTION

We need to correct our vision here a bit. St. Benedict was writing
1400 years before the world knew Marx and Engels. He far predates the
kind of materialist world view that has grown up in the last hundred
years or so, largely thanks to Communism with a capital "C", but also
thanks to the excesses of capitalism, too.

There is a certain innocence in St. Benedict's time that we lack, and
that can be a trap. St. Benedict's "economic theory" or theology of
material goods is NOT directed to the goods themselves, or to profit
to the max, but to the people (the whole family,) who own them and
the one who uses them. People, first, things later!

In monastery or in family, the message here is that we do not own
things in the ultimate sense, we use and administer them. They are
needed for the common good and are therefore not ours to waste or
expend with impunity. This is very much the theology of private
ownership espoused long after Benedict's time by St. Thomas
Aquinas: we own things in responsible stewardship for the good of
all, since that is how and why God created things. Echoing the ideas
of both saints, Pope Pius XI, in the early half of the 20th century,
said that private property is not an absolute right- it bears
obligations for the common good.

One could offer a very incomplete litany here and say: parent,
teacher, boss, all of you: read this chapter! One could be more
complete and say that anyone who has any charge over things on which
others depend should read this. That would include, at one time or
another, all of us!

We do not realize how much like a cellarer we truly are: all of us
administer things we do not own outright. All property is held in
stewardship, all things are given by God for the commonwealth
(literally!) of all. If we administer some of His wealth unjustly, it is Him
we offend.

St. Thomas Aquinas was very clear in his teachings about
property rights and responsibilities. God made things- all of
creation- so that people could thrive and save their souls. When we see
to it that some thrive frighteningly more than others and others thrive
not at all, something is terribly amiss.

I am not cellarer, but I was guestmaster. Just as there were limits to
my own control- it was not "my" house- there are
limits to all of the things that all of us own. No one, no one in
Christendom owns outright. There is always the responsibility for the
good of others, for sharing, for kindness and clemency.

Look, too, at St. Benedict's concern, which he voices elsewhere when
dealing with authority, for those with little or no voice: the poor,
the guests, the children, the infirm. St. Benedict, more than once,
tries to guarantee that those who may be half afraid to ask need not
be so, that the authority will go out to meet their needs even before
they have to express them. He is trying to give clout to the
cloutless, and so should we all!

Cling to the line about not vexing others. It is always very, very
cheap and easy to let others live. It usually "costs" us far less
than we are willing to admit on a bad day. As Father Damian of St.
Leo used to say: "If it gives him so much pleasure and me so little
pain, why not?" However, spare yourself a lot of pain and frustration
at the onset by realizing firmly that treating others that way will
in no way guarantee that they will return the compliment, often quite
the reverse. But that isn't the reason one does it. One does it for
Christ.

Love and prayers,

Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

+PAX

I accidnetally sent Nov. 7 yesterday, this is Nov. 6 to catch up. BJL

Please pray for healing for Andrew has been Diagnosed with a brain Tumor and has
had multiple seizures because of it. At this time they are uncertain of the
diagnosis due to the fact that the pathology report has not come back. Prognosis
is not looking very good.

Update: Bella, the little girl with the shotgun wound has been moved to rehab
and is now able to stand with the aid of a cane and can take a few steps with
people supporting her front and back. She has a toxic level of lead in her
system from the buckshot that remains in her and they have decided that they
will not do any more surgery to remove the remaining 40 or so pellets still in
her. Please continue prayers for healing.

Prayers for the US election today. May God's will be done.

Please pray for healing for Angel, 10 months. He is going in Thursday Nov. 8 for
some corrective surgery on the male anatomy.

Please pray for Elaine's sister Charlene. She was just told that she might have
breast cancer and they are sending her for tests. Tests in Canada usually
require weeks and sometimes months. The doctor got her in tomorrow at 11am so it
looks quite serious at this point. Prayers please that she does not have cancer.


Prayers continued for Eileen, for whom we prayed, she now has a twisted bowel.

Prayers for the eternal rest of Marianne, 88, for whom we prayed, and for all
her family, esp. her sister, Joyce, and for all who mourn her.

Prayer for Mike andf Skip, his dog, both were attacked by a pit bull and
injured, and for Joanne, his wife.

Deo gratias, prayers for newborn Elizabeth Rose and her parents and
grandparents.

Deo gratias, prayers for Rob and his wife and their newboen daughter.

Lord, help us all as You know and will. God's will is best. All is mercy and
grace. God is never absent, praise Him! Thanks so much. JL

March 7, July 7, November 6
Chapter 30: How Boys Are to Be Corrected

Every age and degree of understanding
should have its proper measure of discipline.
With regard to boys and adolescents, therefore,
or those who cannot understand the seriousness
of the penalty of excommunication,
whenever such as these are delinquent
let them be subjected to severe fasts
or brought to terms by harsh beatings,
that they may be cured.

REFLECTION

We are, after all, creatures of our own age, for better or worse.
Every age has its hotspots and button-pushers, so it should amaze no
one that many freak out immediately on the phrase "harsh beatings." ("Calm
down now, breathe deeply. Paramedics will be here any minute
now..Try not to speak...We'll see if we can get that dosage adjusted
for you so you won't have these dreadful fugues anymore...")

Don't let our own age's revulsion at corporal punishment (which was
thought perfectly sane when St. Benedict wrote,) blind you to the
pearl of great price herein. "Every age and degree of understanding
should have its proper measure of discipline."

Probably unintentional (but the Holy Spirit can sneak a lot of His
stuff into our words,) is the poetic ambiguity of the words "every
age." That can mean all ages of an individual AND all ages of
history. Quite evidently, the best minds of our own age no longer
subscribe to beating sense into someone as a terribly useful method.
So we affirm that and move on to the good stuff here.

The good stuff is personalism in the extreme. Every person is
different at every stage of their lives and every age in which people
are born produces different people. We are different from the
generations before us because everything that formed us was NOT
identical to the external forces which formed our elders.

Think of the people you have thought were mean. I'll bet that there
is a statistically significant trend among them, a tendency to "one
size fits all" in punishment. Not so, folks, not so. Any who think
that one size fits all certainly couldn't hold
such a position if they were actually looking at the person before
them.

St. Benedict wants us to look at the person at all times, not just in
figuring out a punishment or discipline. Look at the person, LOOK,
really look at the other. Why? because in the confusing mosaic of all
those others we shall see Christ, to Whom we must prefer nothing,
because He is really, truly there. Over time and with struggles, that
kaleidoscopic mess of bits will emerge into a truest portrait, even if
only in Heaven. We shall, when we see Christ at last, recognize Him
better and at once because of all His people who have given us
glimpses, no matter how slight.



Love and prayers,

Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA




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+PAX

Continued prayers for Eileen, she does not have a twisted bowel after all, but
now has a level of kidney failure, prognosis for treatment uncertain.

Prayers for Sue's husband. He will have surgery next week to have a pacemaker
and defibrillator inserted.

Lord, help us all as You know and will. God's will is best. All is mercy and
grace. God is never absent, praise Him! Thanks so much. JL

March 9, July 9, November 8
Chapter 31: What Kind of Man the Cellarer of the Monastery Should Be

Above all things let him have humility;
and if he has nothing else to give
let him give a good word in answer
for it is written,
"A good word is above the best gift" (Eccles. 18:17).


Let him have under his care
all that the Abbot has assigned to him,
but not presume to deal with what he has forbidden him.


Let him give the brethren their appointed allowance of food
without any arrogance or delay,
that they may not be scandalized,
mindful of the Word of God as to what he deserves
"who shall scandalize one of the little ones" (Matt 18:6).


If the community is a large one,
let helpers be given him,
that by their assistance
he may fulfill with a quiet mind the office committed to him.
The proper times should be observed
in giving the things that have to be given
and asking for the things that have to be asked for,
that no one may be troubled or vexed in the house of God.

REFLECTION

"A good word is above the best gift." This applies to us all and it
is so very true. I know we have bad days, I know that sometimes
emotions can all but overpower us, but for the most part, the self-
discipline to say something nice, or at least to refrain from saying
anything harsh, is available and ought to be employed.

One good word, one kind, caring phrase, can change a person's whole
day, whole outlook on a given matter, and sometimes even change another's
whole life. One word can be remembered for years, for decades, for a
lifetime. Unfortunately, this is equally true if the word was hurtful.

The power of the tongue, an awesome, wondrous power to foster growth
or stunt it, to expand or contract the heart of the hearer, this
power is not the cellarer's alone, it belongs to us all. The tongue
can figuratively kill, it can distance others from us, leaving us
finally alone with the predictable isolation of our crankiness.

It can ruin lives, others' and our own. Very often the harsh word is
the one never forgotten, the word whose hurt will surface years and
years after its speaker is off the scene. Think carefully of the harsh
words you recall being said to you, then think with double caution
about joining those "unforgettable" ranks by saying such hurtful
things to others.

Yet there is a further and even more treacherous trap of the hurtful
word: it is cyclical evil. It tempts the one hurt to rehearse all
kinds of comebacks, to hurt the one who hurt first. Never doubt that
when we provoke others to sin we share in their guilt.

Even if, by dint of grace, those hurtful replies are never uttered by the one
we have hurt, great harm is done to another's heart, another's peace,
another's life in the time wasted focusing on the hurt and plotting revenge.
It can also tempt another to throw in the towel, to quit altogether, to remove
oneself from whatever the situation of vulnerability to attack, whether that
be a job, a marriage or a monastery.

Those feelings of flee or fight are triggered by adrenalin, to be
sure, which makes them natural enough, but also very difficult to
combat. Our smart aleck mouths can place another in a painful morass
of flee/fight tortures that we may never know about at all. If they
triumph through grace, we never hear any more of what they suffered,
but their suffering is no less real and no less surely laid at our
own feet.

How many times are we surprised at what another remembers us having
said (even good stuff!) or the details about a shared day that stand
out in one mind and not in another? Be very, very careful of the
memories we give to others. Those memories will live in their minds,
continuing to potentially cause good or evil, long after we are gone.
Not for nothing did St. James assert that if we have religion and
bridle not our tongues, our "religion is in vain." Truly,
truly, "death and life are in the power of the tongue."

A last caution: if you are the recipient of harsh words, try hard to
make yourself a beneficiary, not a victim. Hurt can focus far too
much on our own imagined worth and importance. Learn the treasure
of a humility that can thrive on the correct management of such situations
and feelings. Don't obsess, don't focus on revenge or compose an
equally cruel comeback. We can waste hours rehearsing comeback
lines for situations that never arise. Time is too precious for that!

Face it, roles change. Some days we are the statue, others we are the
pigeons. Everything comes to us as a means for grace, but also as a
possible means for a fall. Choose grace. Minimize the situation rather than
magnify it. That can make a huge difference!

Love and prayers,

Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA



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+PAX

Please pray that Charlene is able to get in for all the tests she needs and that
she does not have cancer or anything seriously wrong.

Genny's Doc called with the news that she has some damage to her heart...
possibly for a heart attack. Four hours of testing today to determine how much
damage there is. Please pray for healing and peace... she is terrified.

Prayers for a musically gifted seminarian who has acid reflux and now polyps in
his throat which may affect his vocal cords.

Prayers for the United States and all those elected in the election Tuesday, may
God guide us all.

Prayers for Alice and her husband that they are able to quit smoking so their
health insurance will not go up $100 more per month;

Prayers for Paige needs a new job;

Special intention BB, and JS -- difficult study and career situation

Special intention for Beverly

continued prayers for Arjahn -- health issues and conversion of life.

Deo gratias for past prayers answered.

Lord, help us all as You know and will. God's will is best. All is mercy and
grace. God is never absent, praise Him! Thanks so much. JL

March 10, July 10, November 9
Chapter 32: On the Tools and Property of the Monastery

For the care of the monastery's property
in tools, clothing and other articles
let the Abbess appoint sisters
on whose manner of life and character she can rely;
and let her, as she shall judge to be expedient,
consign the various articles to them,
to be looked after and to be collected again.
The Abbess shall keep a list of these articles,
so that
as the sisters succeed one another in their assignments
she may know what she gives and what she receives back.


If anyone treats the monastery's property
in a slovenly or careless way,
let her be corrected.
If she fails to amend,
let her undergo the discipline of the Rule.

REFLECTION

As I watched myself become more careful of water during our last
drought, I began to reflect on the wastefulness of modern life in many
areas. Actually, we didn't do that much to conserve. Most of what we
did was simply trying to avoid the levels of waste to which we had
become accustomed.

Well, that's something we should be doing with everything, not just
water, and it should be done because we do not own things that all
people need outright. How different we would have been in the first
place, if we, like so many in the world, had to walk to a single
shared water tap a couple of miles away twice a day or maybe even
just once! And then- oh, horrors!- stand in line for a couple of
hours before drawing our heavy water and hauling it home on foot. Or
maybe, as for millions, there is no tap at all.

Americans in particular can equate lack of waste with stinginess.
It's a terrible view of things, but deeply rooted. Consumerist
society encourages waste because it fuels profits for the few at the
top. Sad that many below cannot be made to see that when we waste, we
are cheating ourselves, in more ways than one: ecologically,
economically AND spiritually. Waste is a lack of mindfulness for
others.

The reasons which have subtly taught us to live with criminal waste
as if it were nothing are false, totally false. Waste is not luxury, it
denies others. Why live a lie? We do not live on a planet of infinite resources.

Monasteries and homes are microcosms of the universe. We must never
look at conservation as if our actions alone will advance the rise or
prevent the fall. They very well may do neither. What our actions CAN
do is limit our complicity. That is the only safe rationale for
undertaking them.

Every drop of fresh water makes the ocean less salty, though its a
fair bet that the Atlantic will remain saline, indeed, in spite of
our efforts! That's not the point. God sees
our efforts and good intentions, not judging on results.

He knows we cannot change things single-handedly. No average citizen
alone could have stopped the Holocaust in Nazi Germany, but some
chose not to be in any way part of it, often at the cost of their
lives. See what I mean? A wealth of opportunity in choice awaits all
of us.

That treasure of choice awaits us in every single area of decision,
many, many more times than we are aware of ordinarily. The Pearl of
great price we can buy with our choices is Christ Himself, Who always
waits for us discreetly behind the good!

Love and prayers,
Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA







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Prayers for St. Leo Abbey, its monks and oblates and St. Leo University on their
patronal feast. And prayers for Hegumen Leo of Holy Trinity Monastery, Butler,
PA. And maybe a prayer for me, too. Leo is my second religious name,
though so far my brothers have not been persuaded to give me two feastday
celebrations, LOL!

Prayers, please, for the eternal rest of the following, for all their loved ones
and all who mourn them:

James, who took his own life; that he may have accepted God's infinite Grace in
his last moments.


Kyle, also a suicide, that he may have accepted God's grace in his last moments.

Noah, twin girls and another man, all died in a plane crash.

Mark, who died of testicular cancer.

Prayers for the spiritual and temporal welfare of the following, for all their
loved ones and all who take care of them:

Update: First, Genny thanks all who are praying for her healing. After four more
hours of testing today the Doc called. All have been inconclusive! More test
tomorrow and a heart cath scheduled for next Wednesday. Please keep up the
prayers.

Arjahn, health issues and conversion of life needed.

Denny, battling cancer, and for his friends, Vince and Megan

Deo gratias, Angel, 10 months, came through his surgery well, continued prayers
for his recovery.

Lord, help us all asYou know and will. God's will is best. All is mercy and
grace. God is never
absent. Thanks so much. JL

March 11, July 11, November 10
Chapter 33: Whether Monks Ought to Have Anything of Their Own

This vice especially
is to be cut out of the monastery by the roots.
Let no one presume to give or receive anything
without the Abbot's leave,
or to have anything as his own --
anything whatever,
whether book or tablets or pen or whatever it may be --
since they are not permitted to have even their bodies or wills
at their own disposal;
but for all their necessities
let them look to the Father of the monastery.
And let it be unlawful to have anything
which the Abbot has not given or allowed.
Let all things be common to all,
as it is written (Acts 4:32),
and let no one say or assume that anything is his own.

But if anyone is caught indulging in this most wicked vice,
let him be admonished once and a second time.
If he fails to amend,
let him undergo punishment.


REFLECTION

Benedictine poverty is easily translatable for the lay monastic,
married or single, into terms of simplicity and detachment, a holy
indifference to non-essentials. As such, it offers a powerful
opportunity for a witness against some of the real falsehoods of
modern consumerist society. This is not (nor need it be,) a preachy
attack on today's values, just a quiet refusal to go along with them.
It involves personal practice and choice, not confrontation.

Benedictine teaching on material goods is based on needs, not
desires. We ought to have all that is necessary and if, as sometimes
happens, that is not possible, we ought not to grumble.
Benedictine simplicity insists that we live in the moment of now with
gratitude.

Does your family have all that you really need today? If so, then
don't put your heart on hold till you can swing a below-ground
swimming pool. That's exactly why inordinate desires can be so
harmful: they DO put our hearts on hold, they take us out of the
contented present and force us to live in an uncertain future
of "when" and "if".

That future is not real. We might never live to see it. We have no
way of knowing whether or not we will live till lunch today. The present is
all we have and anything that distracts our view from it is often a complete
waste of time.
Living in the now is a great reality check!

I always hate discussions of simplicity that are so general that they
leave people thinking: "Well, great, but how do I DO that?" Hence a
few suggestions, not at all as norms, but just as ideas. With them
comes a huge warning for Oblates who are spouses and parents. You can
make choices like this for yourself, in some cases, even for the
household, but you must never force such things on children or
spouses. That can be disastrous and produces the very same loss of
serenity that simplicity is designed to protect us from.

Clothes. Almost everyone can make do with less, male or female.
Before I became a monk, I generally had two pairs of slacks- one
khaki and one navy blue. They looked preppy. They went with
everything. Yes, after a while, people did notice I was always in one
or the other, but so what? The shirts were different and I was clean.
The shirts came from the Salvation Army: years of wear in good
clothes for less than $5 a pop, less than $2 a pop if one waited till
sale day.

Recycle in your own home. Towels go down from the bath, to the
kitchen, to rags. With all the rags you will soon accumulate living
this way, you can say goodbye to paper towels, unless there is some
reason you really need them. Cloth napkins? Wow! They even seem a bit
upscale and you can stop buying one-use paper. Trust me, ordinarily
washing them once a week is fine.

This is not stinge, folks. Insofar as possible, consume stuff that is
really good for you, avoid stuff that is wasteful or harmful. We
become immune to the very high levels that our society actually
encourages waste, almost demands it.

How many people over fifty recall their first reactions to disposable
lighters, ballpoint pens and razors when they first came out? It was
like: "Huh??? You throw them away???" When was the last time you
bought a refill for a ballpoint pen? Now one hardly sees any pens BUT
disposable ones. Big, big money and profits were made by the
companies teaching us to throw away and waste the WHOLE item, not
just the used part. We got used to that, sadly.

I went back to non-disposable razors some time ago, but they cost
more than the throw away kind, which have filled who knows
how many garage dumps in 30 years. Somebody gave me a Zippo lighter
for Christmas a few years ago. It is a bit of a hassle to keep it in
flints and fluid, but it means that I have spared the planet from at
least a little plastic.

By the way, you don't do this because it will end over-consumption.
It won't. The world has not moved to Schick razors and Zippos, nor
are they likely to do so any time soon. What it does, and this is
important, is limit your complicity in the nonsense. That, so long as
one does not become self-righteous, can be an immensely freeing thing.

Always remember the Zen principle: the only thing that is lacking is
the sense that nothing is lacking. Modern consumerism thrives on and
insists that we ALWAYS feel something is lacking. Not so, we can be
free of that. Why be lied to any more?

Love and prayers,
Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA



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+Pax

Prayers, please, for the eternal rest of Fr. Martin,OSB, of Mt. Savior
Monastery, and for all his family and commmunity and all who mourn him.

Prayers for Fr. Martin of Pluscarden Abbey, on his patronal feast. Prayers for
all our Martins, too, esp. Martin G. and Martin S.

Prayers for Sandy, having bladder surgery on Monday.

Prayers for Bob, brain surgery found 2 tumors, one inoperable, the other biopsed
and cancer is suspected.

Lord, help us all as You know and will. God's will is
best. All is mercy and grace. God is never absent, praise Him! Thanks so much.
JL

March 12, July 12, November 11
Chapter 34: Whether All Should Receive in Equal Measure What Is
Necessary


Let us follow the Scripture,
"Distribution was made to each
according as anyone had need" (Acts 4:35).
By this we do not mean that there should be respecting of persons
(which God forbid),
but consideration for infirmities.
She who needs less should thank God and not be discontented;
but she who needs more
should be humbled by the thought of her infirmity
rather than feeling important
on account of the kindness shown her.
Thus all the members will be at peace.

Above all, let not the evil of murmuring appear
for any reason whatsoever
in the least word or sign.
If anyone is caught at it,
let her be placed under very severe discipline.

REFLECTION


One reason murmuring is so strongly proscribed here is that its
origin in this case is likely to be from jealousy. Jealousy is a
terrible thing in any human being, but even more treacherous when the
people involved have to live and work together in community. Jealousy
in monastics is a sure sign that one is in trouble. Perfect monastics
simply don't care about such stuff! (If they did at all, it would only be to
rejoice for the other!)

Yet many of us- myself roundly included- can still find jealousy
rearing its ugly head from time to time. It is part of our fallen
human nature, it is also part of us that has not grown up yet: an
inner child that is still screaming "Mom ALWAYS liked you best!"
Sigh... Jealousy cannot live without ignorance or falsehood, so
reality checks may be helpful, shaking ourselves awake to what is
true and real, reminding ourselves what we do NOT know and cannot
know about another's situation compared to our own.

Did we but know the gift of God! Ah, but we most surely do NOT know
it! If we did, we should be far, far more grateful for the different
ways He deals with people. We should be relieved that we have not the
gifts of others, since we have not their peculiar circumstances nor
vocations nor personalities to deal with those gifts. We should also
be able to more clearly see how richly- and utterly appropriately- we
ourselves have been blessed. God is no wretched giver, and we are ALL
swathed in His unfathomable mercy.

Love and prayers,
Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA






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Prayers, please, for the eternal rest of the following, for all their loved ones
and all who mourn them:

my beloved friend, Ann Chatlos, mentioned in these reflections. She died some
years ago, but today is her birthday.

Mrs. LoPiccolo, Michael's Mom, on the 4th anniversary of her death.

Prayers for Mary, a young mother with metastatized thyroid cancer.

Please pray for Kay and Harry, 92 and 96, whose in-home caregiver has given her
notice, and they feel that they must move to a nursing home at this time.

March 13, July 13, November 12
Chapter 35: On the Weekly Servers in the Kitchen

Let the brethren serve one another,
and let no one be excused from the kitchen service
except by reason of sickness
or occupation in some important work.
For this service brings increase of reward and of charity.
But let helpers be provided for the weak ones,
that they may not be distressed by this work;
and indeed let everyone have help,
as required by the size of the community
or the circumstances of the locality.
If the community is a large one,
the cellarer shall be excused from the kitchen service;
and so also those whose occupations are of greater utility,
as we said above.
Let the rest serve one another in charity.


The one who is ending his week of service
shall do the cleaning on Saturday.
He shall wash the towels
with which the brethren wipe their hands and feet;
and this server who is ending his week,
aided by the one who is about to begin,
shall wash the feet of all the brethren.
He shall return the utensils of his office to the cellarer
clean and in good condition,
and the cellarer in turn shall consign them to the incoming server,
in order that he may know
what he gives out and what he receives back.

REFLECTION

I know some houses have moved away from having table waiters, but
something is lost in that. We have cafeteria style first portions
here, than the waiter goes around to offer seconds and clears the
dishes. It isn't a really big deal, but it does have a great reward,
as the Holy Rule points out. Because we are a small community, only
7, everyone, even the Superior takes a turn at waiting.

Formerly, in some houses (maybe in all, but I am not sure,) the Abbot
would wait tables on Holy Thursday. There was a nice connection
there: he who held the place of Christ waited on all on the feast of
the Last Supper, and washed the feet of twelve in Church that day.

The connection here is personalist. Waiting on people connects you
very much to them, as any waiter could tell you. Restaurants may not
pursue that connection to any depth, but a home situation, like a
monastery, surely does. There's a great notion here for Oblates who
do not live alone: take turns waiting. We can get slumped into Dad or
Mom or husband or wife always being waiter or waited upon. Switch
off, care for each other, in this and many, many other ways!

Serving our families makes us feel very special, a kind of special
that I think humility completely allows. If you have children, for
heaven's sake, teach them to cook. As they grow older, it might well
result in a night off for you and the child will benefit. Our
relationship with any group is different when we are only in a
position of taking or receiving. To know the full breadth of love, we
must be able to give back, in ways no matter how small.

Tom Grimaldi, one of our Oblates, told me over breakfast at the guesthouse
that often his Vespers is to cook for his family. I agreed that it readily
is! Marriage is a sacrament, serving those of one's primary vocation is truly
a holy work of prayer, if only we let it be! Tom uses Vespers tapes while
he cooks, which has the added advantage of letting several Gregorian
psalm tones slip into memory for him. Now he can sing along much easier
on his visits here!

It is a very priestly and sacramental task to feed people. Not for
nothing did Jesus leave us with a Meal to remember Him by, to remain
among us as well! Not for nothing is the image of heaven a banquet.
When we cook for (or clean up after!) our family and friends we are
partaking in one of the fullest representations of the
serving Christ.

Love and prayers,

Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA


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Prayers, please, for our Br. Isidore on his birthday, ad multos annos, many
years and many more!

Prayers, please, for Barry and BIll, special intentions.

Lord, help us all as You know and
will. God's will is best, All is mercy and grace. God is never absent, praise
Him! Thanks so much. JL

March 14, July 14, November 13
Chapter 35: On the Weekly Servers in the Kitchen

An hour before the meal
let the weekly servers each receive a drink and some bread
over and above the appointed allowance,
in order that at the meal time they may serve their brethren
without murmuring and without excessive fatigue.
On solemn days, however, let them wait until after Mass.


Immediately after the Morning Office on Sunday,
the incoming and outgoing servers
shall prostrate themselves before all the brethren in the oratory
and ask their prayers.
Let the server who is ending his week say this verse:
"Blessed are You, O Lord God,
who have helped me and consoled me."
When this has been said three times
and the outgoing server has received his blessing,
then let the incoming server follow and say,
"Incline unto my aid, O God;
O Lord, make haste to help me."
Let this also be repeated three times by all,
and having received his blessing
let him enter his service.

REFLECTION

Blessing readers and servers may strike the modern reader as a bit
silly: a CEREMONY of blessing to do a no-brainer like that for a
week? Ah, well there's the rub. Ancient monastics (and many Eastern
Orthodox monastics even in our own day,) did NOTHING without a
blessing. This results in all kinds of blessings for things we would
take for granted. When the Carmelite Martyrs of Compiegne went as a
group to the guillotine, at least one of the nuns approached the
Prioress and asked; "Permission to die, Mother?" The Prioress blessed
her to die.

Getting a blessing, asking God's help for even seemingly trivial
matters is a powerful reminder of our own weakness. It is a statement
that we can do nothing without Him, that we truly are nothing that He
has not given. There is a great humility in asking anyone for help.
In this instance, however, humility is richest truth: we need God's
help for everything. We do things only because He enables us, whether
we asked Him for help or not. Our very lives would not exist without
Him.

We still bless readers and servers. Short ceremony, same every week.
We all pray together for whomever is serving us. Since we are small
(only 7,) the Superior is often reader or server. When that happens,
he kneels like anyone else and the senior monk blesses him. It's a
little family ritual.

But what is its message for families in the world? For single Oblates
living alone? The message is that there are no tasks too insignificant
to bless with prayer. St. Benedict has earlier encouraged us to begin
every good work with prayer, but maybe we have forgotten. Because the
monastic is MINDFUL, careful, attuned to life, nothing is
unimportant, nothing should be done "on automatic pilot." There is
that healthy level of mistrust of self that will ask for Divine
assistance in any endeavor. "Bless, Lord, yet another
diaper." "Bless, Lord, emptying the trash." "Bless, Lord, management
meeting!!" "Bless, Lord, picking up pins."

Making dinner or washing the dishes? Take a quiet moment in the midst
of either to say "Help!" and "Thanks!" Two simple, one word prayers.
No matter how chaotic your household, everyone will find time for at
least that. God knows the details, knows your heart and can readily
fill in the blanks! We may think God needs essay-length prayers, but
He doesn't. He may enjoy hearing from details from us, as He told St.
Faustina that , but He also hears our one word or one line prayers.

Of course, there is another side to simple things like serving table,
picking up pins and the like. No, one could not have done anything
without God's help, but ah, if one does them out of love and care!
Bingo! Double coupons, so to speak! If that pin got carefully picked
up because of a barefoot and running child, or a beloved pet who is
prone to "tasting" whatever she can find on the floor, simplicity
becomes a very much greater matter, indeed. Now it is very close to
the heart of God, and that is a wonderful place to be.

Love and prayers,
Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA





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Prayers, please, for the spiritual and temporal welfare of the following, for
all their loved ones and all who take care of them:

Jack, one of our miracle bablies, on his first birthday. Ad multos annos, many
more!

Melissa, that she get funds to go to school or that she gets back to work.

Deo gratias, Anne's 6 hour surgery went well. Prayers now for her recovery. She
has had several units of blood and has low blood pressure.

Genny LoPiccolo, more tests to diagnose and hopefully treat her heart condition.
Please pray for peace and healing for Genny as all this waiting had been very
stressful for her.

Lord, help us all as You know and will. God's will is best. All is mercy and
grace. God is never absent, rpaise Him. Thanks so mcuh. BJL

November 14
Chapter 36: On the Sick

Before all things and above all things,
care must be taken of the sick,
so that they will be served as if they were Christ in person;
for He Himself said, "I was sick, and you visited Me" (Matt 25:36),
and, "What you did for one of these least ones, you did for Me"
(Matt.25:40).
But let the sick on their part consider
that they are being served for the honor of God,
and let them not annoy their sisters who are serving them
by their unnecessary demands.
Yet they should be patiently borne with,
because from such as these is gained a more abundant reward.
Therefore the Abbess shall take the greatest care
that they suffer no neglect.


For these sick let there be assigned a special room
and an attendant who is God-fearing, diligent and solicitous.
Let the use of baths be afforded the sick
as often as may be expedient;
but to the healthy, and especially to the young,
let them be granted more rarely.
Moreover,
let the use of meat be granted to the sick who are very weak,
for the restoration of their strength;
but when they are convalescent,
let all abstain from meat as usual.


The Abbess shall take the greatest care
that the sick be not neglected by the cellarers or the attendants;
for she also is responsible for what is done wrongly by her disciples.

REFLECTION

"Before all things and above all things..." is a very strong
statement. If St. Benedict meant that, and we must assume he did,
monasteries and families should not only make sure that the sick are
full and equal members, but even that they have priority. The sick
bear a responsibility in this: they are not to "vex" those caring for
them, but even if they fail in that, they must be borne with
patiently.

Let's face it, at a certain point, the sick are definitely "out of
the loop" in human society. This is even more true of the long-term,
chronically ill. This is, of course, very typical primate behavior-
for a nomadic troop of baboons, it would be fine. Christianity and
Benedictinism, however call us to rise far above such limitations of
natural response. We are called to be more than natural. We are bound
to strive for the SUPERnatural.

Even in monasteries, especially large ones, the sick can be shelved
and forgotten by some members.In this aspect, the monastics mirror a similar
flaw in the secular world and in many families: out of sight, out of mind.
The concerns of one's active daily life can lead to a certain
selfishness, and the Holy Rule is trying to prevent this. We must be
different from the world, different from that nomadic troop of
primates. We must be more. Both Gospel and Rule, baptism and monastic
commitment demand that.

The flip side of this coin- and I think those who have worked in
hospitals and nursing homes can confirm this- is that there is
something very special about those who quite resolutely do NOT leave
the sick out of the loop. In both monastery and world, those with a
heart for the ill seem to be a special breed.

Oblates in the world, there is a rich field of endeavor here and you
will hardly have to get in line to enter it. Nursing homes freak you
out? There are adult day care programs that might be easier for you.
I used to do four Communion services a week in such places when I was
in Boston, and, had I been able, they would have gladly let me do
more. When I left to come here, seven years ago, every single one of
those services dropped to once a month or less. There is work for you
to do if you want to get yourself commissioned as a Eucharistic
minister and go for it. These were people that not only the world,
but even the Church had largely forgotten. The chance to do anything
for them enriched my life immeasurably.

Does even day care get to you? Then turn to the families of the
chronically ill. To a large extent, they often share the isolation of
the patient in a very real and very unfair way. Find some ways to not
forget them, to give them a breath of normalcy and relief and you
will find their lives, the patient's life and your own changing for
the better. Everyone can do something, and there is plenty to do!

Ask most people what the hallmark of the Benedictine Order is and
they will likely respond with either liturgy or hospitality. Our Holy
Rule's prescription that all guests be received as Christ is
justifiably famous, as is our concern for the liturgy. However,
another hallmark less attended to is this chapter's insistence that
we receive and serve Christ in the sick, too. Would that we deserved
to have people choosing between THREE hallmarks for their answer-
care of the sick, liturgy and hospitality!

Love and prayers,
Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA







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Prayers, please, for the spiritual and temporal welfare of the following, for
all their loved ones and all who take care of them:

Kevin, 46. He has had MS for 17 years and has been managing quite well. About 6
months ago he had a severe set back and is now in a nursing home. Tests have
shown he has developed a rare form of MS. Prayers for Kevin's recovery so he can
become independent again. Prayers for Kevin's family who is so very upset over
all of his suffering.

Michele who has to go for regular mammograms. Cancer runs in their family.
Prayers that Michele is always healthy and never develops cancer. Michele and
her husband have 7 children, the youngest only a few years old so they need
their mom.


Charlene as she is still waiting to get into her appointment. Prayers she does
not have cancer and that the tests show it is nothing serious.

Lord, help us all as You know and will. God's will is best. All is mercy and
grace. God is never absent, praise Him! Thanks so much. BJL

March 16, July 16, November 15
Chapter 37: On the Old and Children

Although human nature itself is drawn to special kindness
towards these times of life,
that is towards the old and children,
still the authority of the Rule should also provide for them.

Let their weakness be always taken into account,
and let them by no means be held to the rigor of the Rule
with regard to food.
On the contrary,
let a kind consideration be shown to them,
and let them eat before the regular hours.

REFLECTION


In this chapter, on the old and children, as well as in many other
places, such as the references to those who require more material
things and the care of the sick are highlights of Benedictinism's
faceted gem: personalism. St. Benedict sees persons as they are,
where they are. He meets them at many different points on the road to
monastic life, even within the monastery itself. He urges us to do
the same. He also calls all whom he meets at all of those
points "beginners", lest any of us become proud or think ourselves
better than the weak lamb he goes after.

The Holy Rule bends and twists and stoops to make many allowances for
many different sorts of weakness. In doing so, it clearly shows the
loving father's heart of the man who wrote its Prologue in such
tender terms.

The tenderness of St. Benedict shines through here. These are strong
words for weakness: "ALWAYS taken into account," and "BY NO MEANS
held to the rigor of the Rule for food." Though he prefaces his
chapter recalling that any healthy human nature has a certain level
of consideration for these age groups, our holy Father Benedict
quickly returns to a very consistent theme of the Holy Rule: we are
called to more than mere nature. We are called to enhance our nature
to the heights of sanctity. Our considerate mindfulness for every
person and their individual needs must be greater than that of the
world.

St. Benedict's aim is that each of us ALWAYS see the person first.
That kind of loving mindfulness will make the chapters on the sick
and the young and old seem to be complete no-brainers. This is the
way we should be seeing everyone: real people for whom they really
are, nothing more or less. Circumstances do arise that require
greater attention, but the foundation of that is a firm theology of
personalism.

It should come as no great shock that the most frequent obstacle to
viewing others correctly is ourselves. Our own image, our self, our
pain, our projections get in the way of the lens of truth. We have to
spend our monastic struggle learning to put those things aside, so
that the light of others may shine through unobstructed.

With our own needs at least on a back burner, or better yet, shelved
far off in the pantry, we can begin to truly see others and their
needs. Wipe the mud of self from our eyes and we can see the
treasures that surround us. Mother Teresa of Calcutta surely did
that. She saw beauty that all of us less holy than she missed big-
time and she saw it in everyone.

A key to all this is a favorite quote from Antoine de St.
Exupery's "Little Prince":

"The essential is invisible to the eyes. One can only see rightly
with the heart."

That's what our Holy Rule demands: the cultivation of the very loving
eyes of our hearts!

Love and prayers,
Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA


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+PAX

Prayers, please, for the spiritual and temporal welfare of the following, for
all their loved ones and all who take care of them:


Genny LoPiccolo. The good news is there are no blockages and the valve leak has
not increased, but Genny's heart muscle is extremely weak. Low blood supply and
oxygen. They need to see her heart Doc again to determine if she needs a
different kind of Pacemaker or one with a Defibrillator (God forbid). She is
quite weak.


Deo Gratias. Charlene was given an appointment and has gotten the tests she
needed. Prayers she does not have cancer and that the tests show it is nothing
serious.

Lord, help us all as You know and will. God's will is best. All is mercy and
grace. God is never absent, praise Him! Thanks so much. JL

March 17, July 17, November 16
Chapter 38: On the Weekly Reader

The meals of the sisters should not be without reading.
Nor should the reader be
anyone who happens to take up the book;
but there should be a reader for the whole week,
entering that office on Sunday.
Let this incoming reader,
after Mass and Communion,
ask all to pray for her
that God may keep her from the spirit of pride
And let her intone the following verse,
which shall be said three times by all in the oratory:
"O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall declare Your praise."
Then, having received a blessing,
let her enter on the reading.


And let absolute silence be kept at table,
so that no whispering may be heard
nor any voice except the reader's.
As to the things they need while they eat and drink,
let the sisters pass them to one another
so that no one need ask for anything.
If anything is needed, however,
let it be asked for by means of some audible sign
rather than by speech.
Nor shall anyone at table presume to ask questions
about the reading or anything else,
lest that give occasion for talking;
except that the Superior may perhaps wish
to say something briefly for the purpose of edification.


The sister who is reader for the week
shall take a little ablution before she begins to read,
on account of the Holy Communion
and lest perhaps the fast be hard for her to bear.
She shall take her meal afterwards
with the kitchen and table servers of the week.


The sisters are not to read or chant in order,
but only those who edify their hearers.

REFLECTION

It is tempting when reading any rule or law to view it being observed
with a Nazi goose-step precision. Don't go there! That's not how the
Holy Rule gets fleshed out in healthy communities. (And the key word
here is HEALTHY!) Ours is a Rule for families, and families need love
and affectionate playfulness to build and strengthen their bonds of
unity and delight in each other.

So, OK, we do keep silence in the refectory and we do have reading
and we can't go absolutely off the wall while there, but we do quite
often have some fun. A sidelong glance with eyes rolled upward can
say volumes, a smile or chuckle, sometimes universal and joyous
laughter do the same.

One could go too far with such things, but in moderation they are
fine. They unite with non-verbal ties, they connect with wordless
junctures and these are very powerful. The huge amount of verbiage in
our modern world has taught us to discount words on many occasions,
but the genuinely affectionate body language of shared silence does
not fall under that sentence. Hence, these are very strong messages
of love we send to one another.

Love and prayers,
Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA






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+PAX

Prayers, please, for the eternal rest of the following, for all their loved ones
and all who mourn them:

Marcel, 59, who took his own life.

Ruth, a great nurse, on what would have been her birthday.

Lenny, 80's, and esp. for his son, Dan and family.

Prayers for the spiritual and temporal welfare of the following, for all their
loved ones and all who take care of them:

Dolores, recurrence of breast cancer and for her family, especially her husband
who, in his 90's, has been widowed twice by this disease and is in a state of
shock. Prayers for all who are affected by cancer and for all who seek to heal
it.

continued prayers for Charlene.

Kathy, stage four cancer in her lung and liver.

Lord, help us all as You know and will. God's will is best. All is mercy and
grace. God is never absent, praise Him! Thanks so much. JL

March 18, July 18, November 17
Chapter 39: On the Measure of Food

We think it sufficient for the daily dinner,
whether at the sixth or the ninth hour,
that every table have two cooked dishes
on account of individual infirmities,
so that he who for some reason cannot eat of the one
may make his meal of the other
Therefore let two cooked dishes suffice for all the brethren;
and if any fruit or fresh vegetables are available,
let a third dish be added.


Let a good pound weight of bread suffice for the day,
whether there be only one meal or both dinner and supper.
If they are to have supper,
the cellarer shall reserve a third of that pound,
to be given them at supper.


But if it happens that the work was heavier,
it shall lie within the Abbot's discretion and power,
should it be expedient,
to add something to the fare.
Above all things, however,
over-indulgence must be avoided
and a monk must never be overtaken by indigestion;
for there is nothing so opposed to the Christian character
as over-indulgence
according to Our Lord's words,
"See to it that your hearts be not burdened
with over-indulgence" (Luke 21:34).


Young boys
shall not receive the same amount of food as their elders,
but less;
and frugality shall be observed in all circumstances.


Except the sick who are very weak,
let all abstain entirely
from eating the flesh of four-footed animals.

REFLECTION

I beg the forgiveness of those living outside those U.S. who receive
this for dwelling on the dietary habits of my own country, but I
think there is a message for all of us, to one degree or another
therein. If nothing else, Americans can often serve as a very good
negative example to those of other lands and cultures, sadly, in more
than just food!

Obesity and consumerism can go hand in hand, because they are
different expressions of the same lie: you CAN get filled and it WILL
make you happy. Things will fulfill you. Food is a thing. Whoops!
Small wonder than a nation like my own that tops the charts in
consumption is also right up there in terms of a populace being
overweight.

In the U.S. our attitudes to food are so badly skewed by consumerist
culture that we are truly very spoiled. What most people would see as
the simple addition of moderation to the menu we might view as a
terrible fast of deprivation. We are the people who chant that "Too
much is plenty." Well, it isn't. Too much of anything, food, or stuff
or sex is bad for one: that is the Benedictine message
of moderation.

Let me give my American comrades one or two simple suggestions. If
you live in another land and have already been doing these things,
indulge me, it is good advice for anyone.

For starters, try only water with meals. What?!? Unthinkable! I need
a Coke! Hey, water hydrates you (hence the term!) better than anything else
and it certainly cuts your caloric intake. Most of us do NOT drink enough
water. Start trying.

What about fat and cholesterol and fiber? I know, I know... Hey, look
at how we can be all over the place to recycle and save the planet
while cavalierly damaging our bodies, the ecosystems which are, after
all, closest to us! What about one or two meatless days a week or
just less red meat? Think twice and try to change.

Try, really try to do more of what is better for you. Face it, no
matter what else is important, your care of yourself is much more
closely monitored by God than your concern over wetlands or
whales... The commandment not to kill begins with our own bodies
and health. I often think that many of the noble efforts in the
direction of non-human, even non-animal life are displacement activities, at
least partially in compensation for the dreadful job we do with our own
bodies and with other human life.

The Rule mandates change because St. Benedict knew it was necessary
if we are to make progress on the road to God we have chosen.
However, please remember that even change must be moderate and
gradual. Going overboard all at once is likely a doomed attempt.

Try to start eating nothing but fat-free sawdust tomorrow and you are
quite likely to be discouraged, overwhelmed and fall out of the
fight. That, alas, is just what Satan wants. Discouragement is
usually his strongest weapon! Baby steps, beloveds, baby steps!

Love and prayers,

Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA





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+PAX

Prayers, please, for newly ordained Deacon Armando, he has a growth on his vocal
chords, and is on voice rest, biopsy taken and pending.

Lord, help us all as You know and will. God's will is best. All is mercy and
grace. God is never absent, praise Him! Thanks so much. JL

March 19, July 19, November 18
Chapter 40: On the Measure of Drink

"Everyone has her own gift from God,
one in this way and another in that" (1 Cor. 7:7).
It is therefore with some misgiving
that we regulate the measure of others' sustenance.
Nevertheless, keeping in view the needs of the weak,
we believe that a hemina of wine a day is sufficient for each.
But those to whom God gives the strength to abstain
should know that they will receive a special reward.


If the circumstances of the place,
or the work
or the heat of summer
require a greater measure,
the superior shall use her judgment in the matter,
taking care always
that there be no occasion for surfeit or drunkenness.
We read
it is true,
that wine is by no means a drink for monastics;
but since the monastics of our day cannot be persuaded of this
let us at least agree to drink sparingly and not to satiety,
because "wine makes even the wise fall away" (Eccles. 19:2).


But where the circumstances of the place are such
that not even the measure prescribed above can be supplied,
but much less or none at all,
let those who live there bless God and not murmur.
Above all things do we give this admonition,
that they abstain from murmuring.

REFLECTION

"Above all...abstain from murmuring." The murmuring here (and
everywhere it is mentioned in the Holy Rule,) is mean-spirited
griping about people or conditions. Never for an instant think that
Benedictine standards require one to be blind to real problems.
Even Abbots can be removed and have been. The process is neither simple
nor a great deal of fun, but it has been done. Real evils ought to be
addressed and usually are.

It's hard to write about this, because a certain unwritten law (well,
written in the hearts of monastics!) governs what is and isn't
murmuring. It's an intuitive sort of principle that one learns by
living among and observing other monastics. I can also affirm that even the
intuitive sense about what is or isn't murmuring is not infallible!
A lot of self can get tied up in such assessments.

There are healthy levels of opposition and resistance in a
healthy community, but their boundaries most not be violated. In
fact, any superior or community which mercilessly destroys ALL
disagreement or opposition is in serious danger. Part of community's
efficacy is that vastly different people live together in peace.
Maybe peace is the key to assessing a lot of murmuring.

Listen up, m'dears, I cannot know what another's pain is or how they
should seek help for it, but I do know that the Benedictine way is
NOT to pass that on and not to stand idly by and watch another do so.

Poor Br. X, a murmurer now long dead, I pray for his tortured soul. However, it
was not his fault alone. There was an Abbot who listened, there were monks
who did, too. A united refusal to listen to such poison might have
helped him, or it might have actually driven him out, but in fact
neither of those things happened. We all bear a two-sided obligation to mean
murmuring: don't start it, and don't listen to it. Venom doesn't have
any effect if it doesn't get in the bloodstream. See to it that you
never help it on it's way.

Love and prayers,

Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA





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+PAX

Prayers for Gina, she is still being falsely accused of child abuse and may be
arrested this week on criminal charges; hoping that her newly acquired lawyer
will get statements from persons other than the child who has lied and his
manipulative mother.

Lord, help us all as You know and will. God's will is best. All is mercy
and grace. God is never absent, praise Him! Thanks so much. JL

March 20, July 20, November 19
Chapter 41: At What Hours the Meals Should Be Taken

From holy Easter until Pentecost
let the brothers take dinner at the sixth hour
and supper in the evening.


From Pentecost throughout the summer,
unless the monks have work in the fields
let them fast on Wednesdays and Fridays until the ninth hour;
on the other days let them dine at the sixth hour.
This dinner at the sixth hour shall be the daily schedule
if they have work in the fields
or the heat of summer is extreme;
the Abbot's foresight shall decide on this.


Thus it is that he should adapt and arrange everything
in such a way that souls may be saved
and that the brethren may do their work
without just cause for murmuring.


From the Ides of September until the beginning of Lent
let them always take their dinner at the ninth hour.


In Lent until Easter let them dine in the evening.
But this evening hour shall be so determined
that they will not need the light of a lamp while eating,
Indeed at all seasons
let the hour, whether for supper or for dinner, be so arranged
that everything will be done by daylight.

REFLECTION

Don't get caught up on times here. That's not the hook and it's not
the point. It can also lead you down a primrose path to
ineffectiveness and that's what the Father of Lies wants to happen.

Here's the central point of this chapter: "...[the Abbot] should
adapt and arrange everything in such a way that souls may be saved."
That is a tremendous responsibility and it is also tremendously
subjective. Each Abbot, each parent, each boss and teacher, any
Benedictine in charge or anything must order things so "that souls
may be saved."

That means all things (well, after all, the Holy Rule DOES
say "everything",) in our control must be ordered towards the end
that Peter Maurin, co-founder of Catholic Worker, ascribed to society
itself, the task of "making it easier for people to be good." That
means no chop-busting for the sake of chop-busting, no power trips or
ego trips or control issues that have nothing to do with helping
people become holy. Not only must we remove obstacles to holiness for
those around us and in our care, we must actually provide aids to
sanctity in their environment. Now that is a very tall order!

Within that tall order, however, lies one more secret and key to
Benedictine peace. Peace is no accident, nor is it a void or vacuum
from which conflict is merely absent. Peace is the active presence of
justice and holiness and truth and love to an unusual degree.
Promote those values and peace is the unavoidable result.

Like so much in our Rule, peace is a lot of hard work and a very
delicate balance. Ah, but is it ever worth the effort! Our work must
be to let heaven begin at least partially in THIS life for all.

Love and prayers,
Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA







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+PAX

Prayers for our Bishop Hugh, formerly Abbot of Pluscarden on his feastday, for
many graces and
many more years! Ad multos annos! Prayers for Fr. Hugo and all our Hughs.


Prayers for the spiritual and temporal welfare of the following, for all their
loved ones and all who take care of them:

Anne, home from the hospital after her recent surgery. Deo gratias and continued
prayers.

Andrew, 30, brain cancer, just given 1-2 years to live, now has scabies, too.

Alicea and her family, especially her teen-age son (making some bad decisions
and rebelling), as they cope with many serious pressures and circumstances, and
for employment for Alicea.

for peace and a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza.

Catherine; home from the hospital (VA) after a overextended stay for what should
have been a minor surgery.

Trey; home from the Rehab Hospital; confined to a wheel chair for the rest of
his life.

Tracy, Joyce, Maye Yerger, Carole Geo. Wilson, Jacque, Linda, Margie Fry, Kari,
Geo. S. Jr., Mary Archdeacon Fr. Geo. McClellan, UECNA.

Donna; home recovering from back surgery; and her family care providers.


Lord, help us all as
You know and will. God's will is best. All is mercy and grace. God is never
absent, praise Him! Thanks so much. JL

March 21, July 21, November 20
Chapter 42: That No One Speak After Compline

Monastics ought to be zealous for silence at all times,
but especially during the hours of the night.
For every season, therefore,
whether there be fasting or two meals,
let the program be as follows:


If it be a season when there are two meals,
then as soon as they have risen from supper
they shall all sit together,
and one of them shall read the Conferences
or the Lives of the Fathers
or something else that may edify the hearers;
not the Heptateuch or the Books of Kings, however,
because it will not be expedient for weak minds
to hear those parts of Scripture at that hour;
but they shall be read at other times.


If it be a day of fast,
then having allowed a short interval after Vespers
they shall proceed at once to the reading of the Conferences,
as prescribed above;
four or five pages being read, or as much as time permits,
so that during the delay provided by this reading
all may come together,
including those who may have been occupied
in some work assigned them.


When all, therefore, are gathered together,
let them say Compline;
and when they come out from Compline,
no one shall be allowed to say anything from that time on.
And if anyone should be found evading this rule of silence,
let her undergo severe punishment.
An exception shall be made
if the need of speaking to guests should arise
or if the Abbess should give someone an order.
But even this should be done with the utmost gravity
and the most becoming restraint.

REFLECTION

Silence is sometimes viewed as a penance or deprivation by those new
to monastic life. Worse still, it can even seem depressed or
introverted, because silence, in our chatty culture, is often equated
with unhealthy withdrawal or even with contempt.

Monastic silence is nothing negative and, actually, not very passive,
either. It is an active opening of the ears and of the heart, a
listening for things which the drone of modern life and the noise of
our own mouths can readily obscure. Monastic silence is the hushed
and breathless quiet of the Lover, not the lonely isolation of the
curmudgeon!

Many Oblates write and ask me how they can find silence in the noisy
world. Just think of soldiers and everyone else in the terrible din of war.
How does one EVER find silence in such a situation? In the heart.
Sometimes our hearts are the only cloister, the only silence, the only
serenity and solitude we can hang onto.

Nurture such a heart for yourself. Build within a Kingdom of God
(it's where Jesus told us the Kingdom is!) and a cloister of great peace and
silence and love. Our hearts can never be taken from us. Whatever holiness,love
and peace we build there, we can truly keep for eternity.

As monastic life blossoms- and this is a subjective process that
happens at different speeds for different people- one finds more and
more that silence is at the heart of the tightly wrapped bud. A word
of caution here for impatient types like me: one cannot PRY the bud
open. Those delicate petals are prone to easy tearing!
(Ah, an English pun of spelling here and it applies all too well!
Yes, those petals are prone to BOTH "teering" of weeping and "taring" of
rips!) It opens gradually. You can thwart that chain of events by
non-cooperation, but there is little you can do to safely speed it up.

Put another way, the monastic heart grows more and more to love
silence, to love solitude for the best reasons. Oblates here must be
very careful. One's first vocation is one's spouse and children. The
demands of everyday life must be respected as one's primary vocation
and that can make chiseling out a niche of silent time or solitude
well-nigh impossible. That is a cross we are asked to bear. God knew
from all eternity where He would place our monastic hearts, in what
environment they would grow. We must assume quite safely that God
does, after all, know what He is doing!

Love and prayers,

Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

+PAX

Prayers for St. Mary's Monastery and for vocations, on the 25th anniversary of
its founding as a dependency of Pluscarden Abbey.

Prayers, please, for the spiritual and temporal welfare of the following, for
all their loved ones and all who take care of them:

Tom, nearing the end of his battle with ALS/Lou Gehrig's disease, and for his
wife, children and grandchildren.

Sandy, surgery went well, Deo gratias, now must have chemo, for strength and a
good course of treatment.

David, lengthy security check holding up his signing a contract for a new job,
for a speedy resolution.

Elizabeth and Robert, for safe travels and a holy pilgrimage.

Lord, help us all as You know and will. God's will is best. ALl is mercy and
grace. God is never absent, praise Him! Thanks so much. JL

March 22, July 22, November 21
Chapter 43: On Those Who Come Late to the Work of God or to Table

At the hour for the Divine Office,
as soon as the signal is heard,
let them abandon whatever they may have in hand
and hasten with the greatest speed,
yet with seriousness, so that there is no excuse for levity.
Let nothing, therefore, be put before the Work of God.


If at the Night Office
anyone arrives after the "Glory be to the Father" of Psalm 94 --
which Psalm for this reason we wish to be said
very slowly and protractedly --
let him not stand in his usual place in the choir;
but let him stand last of all,
or in a place set aside by the Abbot for such negligent ones
in order that they may be seen by him and by all.
He shall remain there until the Work of God has been completed,
and then do penance by a public satisfaction.
the reason why we have judged it fitting
for them so stand in the last place or in a place apart
is that,
being seen by all,
they may amend for very shame.
For if they remain outside of the oratory,
there will perhaps be someone who will go back to bed and sleep
or at least seat himself outside and indulge in idle talk,
and thus an occasion will be provided for the evil one.
But let them go inside,
that they many not lose the whole Office,
and may amend for the future.


At the day Hours
anyone who does not arrive at the Work of God
until after the verse
and the "Glory be to the Father" for the first Psalm following it
shall stand in the last place,
according to our ruling above.
Nor shall he presume to join the choir in their chanting
until he has made satisfaction,
unless the Abbot should pardon him and give him permission;
but even then the offender must make satisfaction for his fault.

REFLECTION

First, an aside. The signal to get moving, whatever it may be, is
usually a bell or something like it. Our modern age looks at any
request or command we don't like as a time to start negotiations, not
to obey. We may euphemize this with terms like "dialogue" but the
bottom line is finding a graceful way to say either "Heck, NO!" or
considerably less than "Yes!" or "OK, fine!"

Bells, however, are inexorable and there is no point in arguing with
them. Their stoic silence will win every time! It is worth
remembering that, in the old days, the bell was known as the "vox
Dei," the voice of God. It is further worth recalling that arguing
with God isn't usually very successful, either!

There is a gem buried here that gets lost in the wash of
being late or being on time or kneeling out or not. That treasure
is: "Let nothing, therefore, be put before the Work of God." (Older
translations had: "let nothing be preferred to the Work of God." This
has usually been cited, quite rightly, a a basis for the centrality
of liturgy in Benedictine life, but that is an incomplete view, one
which leaves riches beyond telling unmined.The full sense of this
goes well beyond liturgy.

For the monastic, EVERYTHING holy obedience asks of us is in some
way the work of God. ALL of God's will for us becomes our priority.
That's what our commitment means. Monastic struggle sacralizes every jot
and tittle. In one sense, there is no small stuff anymore. (That can be
a trap for the scrupulous if over-applied, so watch out, folks! Balance, always
balance!) The distinction between sacred and profane is all but obliterated.
Our life is of a whole, and that holistic life is most often informed of God's
wishes for us by obedience.

That can require tremendous faith and trust in God, but God does
reward such trust richly beyond our dreams. Contemporary attempts by
some to reduce all Benedictine obedience to a process of dialogue or
negotiation, or to make it a communal affair or a consensual one are
terribly far off the mark. The textual evidence of the Holy Rule, as
well as historical and traditional evidence simply do not support
such claims.

The Rule speaks of dialogue only when one is commanded to do the
impossible, not the merely unpalatable! Even then, if the superior
insists, one must trust and obey. Tough saying, but obedience works
best when it isn't a lot of fun...

But back to priorities. Surely the Office comes first before lesser
obediences. Being late because one finished something that could wait
is a poor excuse, because it shows what is valued most- one's own
will. On the other hand, when one is tormented with pain that
perceptive superiors will notice, perhaps being late is the best one
can do, and that matters, too. We often judge without considering the
heroism required of some to make even an incomplete effort.

Love and prayers,

Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

+PAX

Prayers, please, for the spiritual and temporal welfare of the following, for al
their loved ones and all who take care of them:

Pat, terminal brain cancer, for her happy death.

Deo gratias, David got his contract, prayers for him in his new job.

Debbie , a mother of two young children, just diagnosed with lymphoma leukemia;
Shannon, that she know God's great love for her and be open to his guidance and
will;

for financial stability for two persons who are in debt

Andrew, brain cancer, on his 31st birthday.

Lorene, experiencing pains and illness symptoms and worried about results of
what this could be. Please pray that she is  fine and no disease/illness. Very
frightened.

for those still suffering from Hurricane Sandy. May they come out of this
tragedy with optimism and find love, peace, health and happiness again.

Paul C. and his family, for God's will to be done.

Prayers for the eternal rest of John F. Kennedy, on the anniversary of his
assassination.

Lord, help us all as You know and will. God's will is best. All is mercy
and grace. God is never absent, praise Him! Thanks so much. JL


March 23, July 23, November 22
Chapter 43: On Those Who Come Late to the Work of God or to Table

Anyone who does not come to table before the verse,
so that all together may say the verse and the oration
and all sit down to table at the same time --
anyone who
through his own carelessness or bad habit
does not come on time
shall be corrected for this up to the second time.
If then he does not amend,
he shall not be allowed to share in the common table,
but shall be separated from the company of all
and made to eat alone,
and his portion of wine shall be taken away from him,
until he has made satisfaction and has amended.
And let him suffer a like penalty who is not present
at the verse said after the meal.

REFLECTION

OK, before we all get hopelessly mired in the belief that St.
Benedict is REALLY mired in punctuality issues, let's try a parable
reality check. What if every bus (or train or plane or subway,)
waited for the latecomer to arrive? For starters, the schedule of
everyone sitting helpless on that mode of transportation would be
disrupted. Everyone would be late, every single one. Some would miss
work, others a wedding, others still a connection with friends to
leave on vacation. If all public transport followed such a program,
our whole world would be a chaotic mess of very unhappy campers in
nothing flat.

Benedictine communities do things together. Usually, that means that
a late arrival at a meal keeps everyone sitting there when already
finished, waiting for the tardy one to eat. (Occasionally a superior
will intervene and end the meal more or less on time, but often that
is not the case. Everybody waits.) This lengthening of the meal then
throws the whole schedule off. The Office cannot suffer, it's times
are inexorable, so what usually gets clipped is free time, recreation
or work. Rob people of these on a regular basis and they can get very
annoyed!

Lateness which is unavoidable is just that, unavoidable. That's a
time when the meal ought to be prolonged, when the others ought to
witness that we "bear one another's burdens" and so fulfill the law
of Christ. Brother X is my brother. I am responsible for a large chunk
of his communal life. If I say that doesn't matter and stroll into
dinner whenever I feel like it, something is terribly wrong with me.
I need to have my skewed vision and values corrected. That's what
this is all about: loving one another rightly.

Much of the Holy Rule which deals with communal life (and is VERY
easy to apply to family life or workplace,) has to do with what should
really be common courtesy and decency. Granted, sometimes those values get
wrapped in ancient language and gesture, making it less easy to see
how simple and modern they are, but those exhortations to polite,
considerate, gentle living are things anyone can follow in any milieu, to great
benefit! Many of those courtesies are threatened or altogether lacking today.
Helping keep them alive may start a conversion in another we will never know
until heaven.

Love and prayers,

Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

+PAX

Continued prayers, please, for the happy death of Pat.

Prayers for Manuela, special intention.

Prayers for Richard, ALS/Lou Gehrig's disease.

Prayers for the eternal rest of Reta, 92, who died on Thanksgiving day in her
sleep, and for all her family and all who mourn her.

Deo gratias, M, 1 yr. old for whom we prayed is doing better and maybe she will
be discharged tonight.

Dot, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Lord, help us all as You know and wil. God's will is best. All is mercy and
grace. God is never absent, praise Him! Thanks so much. JL

March 25, July 25, November 24
Chapter 45: On Those Who Make Mistakes in the Oratory

When anyone has made a mistake
while reciting a Psalm, a responsory,
an antiphon or a lesson,
if he does not humble himself there before all
by making a satisfaction,
let him undergo a greater punishment
because he would not correct by humility
what he did wrong through carelessness.

But boys for such faults shall be whipped.

REFLECTION

Calm down, we don't whip anybody anymore. It has too often been my
experience that such lines push all the buttons of some readers these
days and blind them to the rest of the good stuff there. We don't
whip now, they did 1,500 years ago, everyone else did, too. Let's not
get so mired in the sensitivities of our own time that we forget how
terribly recent some of them are.

As I have mentioned before, in our house we do kneel in the center
when late for choir, then bow to the superior and go to our
place. We also kneel when we make audible mistakes in Church. And
yes, those things, as I pointed out, can be very useful.

But most Oblates do not have a choir to kneel in, so
what's here for the majority of us? There is the grace of humility,
without which communal life on any level, in monastery, workplace, market or
home would be unlivable. Check out some of the lyrics of Shaker
hymns. They feature LOADS of messages about getting along without
murder. One speaks of not being stubborn like the oak, but of being
like the willow that can bend!

Every single human community or whatever sort is going to have its
share of kinks, strays and crosses. Every one without fail
will mirror in some sense the fallen brokenness of humanity. The
gamut of human flaws exists in microcosm, in at least some mitigated form,
in every human group.

Even more annoyingly, most, if not all, pieces of our OWN broken
humanity will be modeled, much to our distaste, by others around us. It is,
alas, our own sins and faults in others that tend to annoy us most. Never
forget to check for that. He or she may REALLY tick you off because
of the great similarities between you!

Our job is to see to it that we are part of the solution, not part
of the problem. When, through whatever means, we become part of the problem,
we must own up to it at once and smooth it over as best and as
quickly as we can.

If you can't say "I'm sorry," for God's sake- quite literally- start
practicing alone in front of a mirror until the words can somehow
tumble out in public. Until they can, try some useful (though not
perfect,) substitutes, like "Excuse me," or "It was my fault." Work
on words of forgiveness, too, like: "It doesn't matter," or "Oh,
that's OK,".

Strive to make light of things. There will never be any
shortage whatever of people who will explode and magnify things out
of all rational proportion, so don't duplicate services! Join the
minority and try to prevent hurricanes in teacups, rather than
produce them.

Most outrage, most lack of apology, most tempests in teacups stem
from a distorted an unhealthy view of the self. Humility corrects
that imbalance. While you're in front of the mirror practicing
apology, why not try a bit of self-interview?

WHY do these things or persons upset you so? What do you have in
common with those who annoy you most? Most important, just who the
heck ARE you that your perceived slights are such a big deal? Try
reminding yourself that He is God and you are not. Honest reflection on these
points may be a big and promising start.

Love and prayers,
Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

For some unknow reason, this did not go through yesterday. Sorry. Catching up
with a copy. BJL



   +PAX

   Prayers, please,for the spiritual and temporal welfare of the following, for
all their loved ones and all who take care of them:

   K., lost both her grandparents this year and now there are other family
crises, too. Prayers, too, for her grandparents' eternal rest and all who mourn
them.

   M., 1 year old, high fever, possible pneumonia and in respiratory ICU.

   Ann, broken jaw after fainting and a fall, mouth wired shut.

   Lynn, bladder surgery on Dec. 3.

   D., stage four breast cancer.

   Johnny, who had a brain stem stroke a week ago and is in ICU and for his wife,
Missy and daughters, Kelly and Emily. Please pray that the pressure in his
brain, his BP and temperature stay under control.

   Manuela, widow, and her son, special intention, please keep her in prayer for
the next week or so.

   Lord, help us all as You know and will. God's will is best. All is mercy and
   grace. God is never absent, praise Him! Thanks so much. JL

   March 24, July 24, November 23
   Chapter 44: How the Excommunicated Are to Make Satisfaction

   One who for serious faults is excommunicated
   from oratory and table
   shall make satisfaction as follows.
   At the hour when the celebration of the Work of God is concluded
   in the oratory,
   let her lie prostrate before the door of the oratory,
   saying nothing, but only lying prone with her face to the ground
   at the feet of all as they come out of the oratory.
   And let her continue to do this
   until the Abbess judges that satisfaction has been made.
   Then, when she has come at the Abbess's bidding,
   let her cast herself first at the Abbess's feet
   and then at the feet of all,
   that they may pray for her.

   And next, if the Abbess so orders,
   let her be received into the choir,
   to the place which the Abbess appoints,
   but with the provision that she shall not presume
   to intone Psalm or lesson or anything else in the oratory
   without a further order from the Abbess.

   Moreover, at every Hour,
   when the Work of God is ended,
   let her cast herself on the ground in the place where she stands.
   And let her continue to satisfy in this way
   until the Abbess again orders her finally to cease
   from this satisfaction.

   But those who for slight faults are excommunicated
   only from table
   shall make satisfaction in the oratory,
   and continue in it till an order from the Abbess,
   until she blesses them and says, "It is enough."

   REFLECTION

   No matter how we came by it, one nasty little of baggage that a lot
   of us carry is the inability to say: "It is enough." For some of us,
   forgiving ourselves or believing we have been forgiven or even
   sensing that we have made all the reparation possible or necessary is
   virtually or even completely impossible.

   There is great blessing for such people to have an Abbot. Even there,
   tremendous trust and obedience are required, because the Evil One
   would very much prefer that our upset and lack of faith continue! An
   Abbot can put and end to many matters, if only we allow that to
   happen. Abbots can offer resolution to many situations and the Holy
   Rule confirms them in this power again and again. The buck really
   stops there!

   If we let it stop there.... That can be so hard. However, even though
   most of us reading this do NOT live with Abbots, we all live with
   God, with Christ. He and He alone is in charge of our forgiveness, of
   the extent of our reparation or penance. He knows all too well the
   extremes of self-damage we can go to without His intervention and He
   does intervene, if only we have the faith to allow Him, to listen and
   believe. Learn, please learn, to accept the forgiveness we receive
   from Him through His ministers, in Confession.

   I am finding lately, much to the relief of my obsessive/compulsive
   heart and soul, that I really can achieve vastly greater amounts of
   inner serenity and peace by putting an affair in my superior's hands
   and accepting his judgement. There is the key to the value of this:
   inner peace and serenity. We can get nowhere without those passports.
   Anything which increases their strength is a chance we ought never to
   miss!

   The divine mercy of God is His greatest attribute, linked inseparably
   to His love. We could never for an instant imagine the full extent of
   that mercy's grandeur. We do Christ a terrible disservice and
   discourtesy when we refuse to believe that His riches are for us,
   that only others can be forgiven, but we must struggle on and "save
   ourselves" with Pelagian bootstraps firmly in hand! What a sneaky
   inverse pride there is in such feelings: I am so special (even
   specially wicked!) that I cannot be like the rest of them!

   Mercy, mercy and always mercy! If you do not have a superior to live
   with, please learn to accept that mercy from God. If you do have a
   superior, confessor or spiritual director,learn to accept God's mercy
   through that channel. If you *ARE* a superior or parent or teacher,
   strive to be that channel. Mercy, mercy, always mercy!

   Love and prayers,

   Jerome, OSB






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

+PAX

Continued prayers for Pat, dying of brain cancer, and for her happy death. A
faithful reader of these reflections for many years, she has asked prayer for
others, now it is her turn. She will be sorely missed.

Lord, help us all as You know and will. God's will is best. All is mercy and
grace. God is never absent, praise Him! Thanks so much. JL

March 26, July 26, November 25
Chapter 46: On Those Who Fail in Any Other Matters

When anyone is engaged in any sort of work,
whether in the kitchen, in the cellar, in a shop,
in the bakery, in the garden, while working at some craft,
or in any other place,
and she commits some fault,
or breaks something, or loses something,
or transgresses in any other way whatsoever,
if she does not come immediately
before the Abbess and the community
of her own accord
to make satisfaction and confess her fault,
then when it becomes known through another,
let her be subjected to a more severe correction.

But if the sin-sickness of the soul is a hidden one,
let her reveal it only to the Abbess or to a spiritual mother,
who knows how to cure her own and others' wounds
without exposing them and making them public.


REFLECTION

The Chapter of Faults, wherein monastics confessed public, external
faults, had become rather silly the way it was practiced before
Vatican II. I remember, years ago, seeing a glossary list of Latin
phrases used to describe different faults. As practiced, I'm not sure
it was the most useful thing in the world at all.

However, look at the kernel here, important for both monasteries and
families: communication. What St. Benedict wrote about was not the
formalized and sometimes empty ritual that the late 20th century had
come to know, it was an airing session of sorts. These can be very
useful. People in any life are often reluctant to open up about what
bothers them, monastics are often even more so! To provide a
structured way and time to do so might have given some just the extra
distance and protection they needed.

Slights and wrongs and hurts that lie hidden and unexpressed can
fester into a spreading, malignant growth. Note that the Holy Rule
bids us never let the sun set on our anger. We have to get the things
that REALLY bother us out. This hardly means a free for all, that
would be very contrary to the whole spirit of the Rule, but it does
mean that genuine differences must be solved in an open and
respectful and humble way.

The way for today's community or family may not be to do this all
together- but then again that might not be all bad, occasionally. At
any rate and however we do it, St. Benedict asks us to own up to our
failures and those of others because he knows it is terribly damaging
not to do so. A important item here is that the all the members must
feel safe to express themselves. How many kids who were afraid to
open their mouths to a parent about really serious troubles in their
relationship are still in therapy years later?

Whether alone or in a group, when we confess our fault to others, we
lighten our load. When we honestly and gently tell others that they
have hurt us or wronged us, we are often surprised to find that they
were unaware of having done so- no wonder they "keep right on doing
it!" We can also be wonderfully surprised at the depth of feeling
with which apologies may be made. Very often the gentle and loving
exposure of a problem between people gives us remarkable
opportunities to show our nobler side and to see that side of our
brothers and sisters.

The goal of this is peace, so it must never be done for any other
motive, for anything less than loving. There is the danger that we
lose track of the important "difference between the virtue of honesty
and the vice of brutal frankness" as my late friend, Fr. Roger, used
to say. This must never become an accepted arena for getting back at one
another. The whole purpose here is to end strife, not perpetuate it.

Love and prayers,
Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

+PAX

I rarely use last names, for privacy's sake, but someone asked if the Pat we
have beeen praying for is Pat Ciavarella, and it is. She is a former member of
our nuns' community and known to some of you. Continued prayers for her happy
death. She had hoped to join us again, if she had beaten the cancer.

Lord, help us all as You know and will, God's will is best. All is mercy and
grace. God is never absent, praise Him! Thanks so much. JL


March 27, July 27, November 26
Chapter 47: On Giving the Signal for the Time of the Work of God

The indicating of the hour for the Work of God
by day and by night
shall devolve upon the Abbot
either to give the signal himself
or to assign this duty to such a careful brother
that everything will take place at the proper hours.

Let the Psalms and the antiphons be intoned
by those who are appointed for it,
in their order after the Abbot.
And no one shall presume to sing or read
unless he can fulfill that office
in such a way as to edify the hearers.
Let this function be performed
with humility, gravity and reverence,
and by him whom the Abbot has appointed.

REFLECTION

Like it or not, for good or ill, the buck stops with the Abbot. This
is true of many, if not all authority figures, so if you fall into
such a group, know that when the Holy Rule speaks of the Abbot, it
speaks of any Benedictine in authority, with a charge or
responsibility, whether in the monastery, the family or a job in
the world.

There is a down side to the authority given here. Abbots are human.
They can make bad choices, they can listen to bad advice, they can
empower the wrong people. None of these things will, in and of
itself, absolve us from obedience, but they often have some pragmatic
use in helping us realize with whom (and what!) we are dealing.

I have known at least two abbots who were blind to the faults of
people they empowered to dangerous lengths. Virtually everybody else
in the community knew, and, though risky, I would say that's a fairly
safe rule of thumb: all of the monks are rarely wrong about someone.
Oh, there may be the terribly occasional genuine saint who is
misunderstood, but usually, when the common opinion was that bad,
there was a reason for all that smoke somewhere!

Which reminds those of us who do have authority to listen to those
who disagree. Sometimes they are very, very right and we are wrong.
Sometimes the person we think is so wonderful is not so hot to
others, has a dark side that we never see, because the individual
wishes to impress the source of empowerment. Sigh...

Except for the rare above-mentioned saint, it is uncommon for someone
in a monastery to be that disliked because they are doing wonderfully
well. I'm not saying that NEVER happens, but at least in my monastic
experience, doing a job terribly well is not usually what earns
disfavor. Being a terror, on the other hand, readily does.

If the Abbot misses the fact and enables one who IS a terror, his
flock will be overdriven in nothing flat. As Scripture suggests, they
may all die in one day and rest assured, those of them who don't will
wish they'd been able to!

What I NEED to be is a monk. For some, sadly, the need-to-be thing is
to be in power. Tragic and very, very sad... I have never known such
an individual in monastic life of whom I was the least bit envious.
They are pathetically sad creatures.

But this is also true of ALL walks of life. All we really NEED to be
is Christ's, to be holy. That means to do our VOCATION well, whatever that may
be. The rest is all fluff. Every Christian and especially those
who choose the Benedictine path, need to examine this and our own
attitude to jobs or power VERY, very closely

Love and prayers,

Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

+PAX

Prayers for Albane, who just had another miscarriage. Prayers for her to be able
to carry a pregnancy to term and for spiritual consolation in this time of trial
for both her and her husband, Thomas.

Prayers for Shannon, for openess to God's guidance and will.

Prayers for Tobin, a  7 year old boy who has cancer and it's spreading quickly.
His family is devastated. Prayers for Tobin and his complete healing. Prayers
for Tobin's family and all this is affecting.

Prayers for C.'s husband, shadow spot on his lung, furhter x rays in six weeks
to see if it is gone.

Lord, help us all as You know and will, God's will is best. All is mercy and
grace. God is never absent, praise Him! Thanks so much. BJL

March 28, July 28, November 27
Chapter 48: On the Daily Manual Labor

Idleness is the enemy of the soul.
Therefore the sisters should be occupied
at certain times in manual labor,
and again at fixed hours in sacred reading.
To that end
we think that the times for each may be prescribed as follows.

From Easter until the Calends of October,
when they come out from Prime in the morning
let them labor at whatever is necessary
until about the fourth hour,
and from the fourth hour until about the sixth
let them apply themselves to reading.
After the sixth hour,
having left the table,
let them rest on their beds in perfect silence;
or if anyone may perhaps want to read,
let her read to herself
in such a way as not to disturb anyone else.
Let None be said rather early,
at the middle of the eighth hour,
and let them again do what work has to be done until Vespers.

And if the circumstances of the place or their poverty
should require that they themselves
do the work of gathering the harvest,
let them not be discontented;
for then are they truly monastics
when they live by the labor of their hands,
as did our Fathers and the Apostles.
Let all things be done with moderation, however,
for the sake of the faint-hearted.

REFLECTION

I offer this as further proof of St. Benedict's tenderness and
gentleness: take a nap. OK, say the siesta is Italian and cultural.
Fine, but there were plenty of cultural elements he didn't let
through the monastery gate. It was a LOT hotter in Egypt and one
doesn't hear the Fathers telling people to lie down and rest, much
less saying that those who cannot sleep dare not wake those who can
with their noisiness! This is a gentle Father we have!

Surely moderation is one of the key elements woven throughout the
Holy Rule, but isn't it at least worthy of note that it is stressed
here, in the chapter on work? St. Benedict may not have had all the
handy psycho babble terms that we use today to name things, but he
had a piercingly clear perception of human nature.

He knew that some people were workaholics and that their contemplative
focus would be shattered by that. So, he counters that by saying: "Take a nap!"
Hey, what a great reality check! Wake up, y'all, the world has an axis to spin
on already
and there is no need for you to duplicate services! St. Benedict
certainly knows that many things are important, even essential and he
is not at all shy about pointing them out. In the midst of all that,
he says: "Take a nap!" If you can't nap, he doesn't even say "pray,"
he tells the insomniac to read quietly!!

Look, we are known for our motto of pray and work, ora et labora. One
might well assume that if you couldn't be working, you ought to at
least be praying. Not so. Take a nap. Balance it out. Try pulling
your arm out of a bucket of water and see what happens. Water closes
right in, no problem. Much depends on us, but usually much less than
we are prone to pridefully think! Take a nap!

Our world around us will gladly and readily tell us that we are worth
nothing other than our productivity, our work, our profitability. St.
Benedict wants to be sure that when we come to his monastery, we see
those distorted values of human dignity for the falsehoods they
really are.

He wants us to work, yes, but to see work in the deep
humility of truth. A consumerist society has taught us the exact
opposite of that and we all need to patiently spend lots of time
peeling those scales from our eyes with the help of God and St.
Benedict.

Take a nap!

Love and prayers,

Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA


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+PAX

Prayers for Brad and Alicia and their unborn twin girls. One of the twins has
developed problems in utero which may require surgery immediately after birth,
if she survives. Alicia has miscarried before. Prayers, too, for Jim and Claire,
worried grandparents of the girls.

Prayers, please, for the eternal rest of Abbot Francis Sadlier, OSB, of St. Leo
Abbey, on the anniversary of his death.

Prayers for the eternal rest of Betty, on her birthday.

Lord, help us all as You know and will. God's will is best. All is mercy and
grace. God is never absent, praise Him! Thanks so much. JL

March 29, July 29, November 28
Chapter 48: On the Daily Manual Labor

From the Calends of October until the beginning of Lent,
let them apply themselves to reading
up to the end of the second hour.

At the second hour let Terce be said,
and then let all labor at the work assigned them until None.
At the first signal for the Hour of None
let everyone break off from her work,
and hold herself ready for the sounding of the second signal.
After the meal
let them apply themselves to their reading or to the Psalms.

On the days of Lent,
from morning until the end of the third hour
let them apply themselves to their reading,
and from then until the end of the tenth hour
let them do the work assigned them.
And in these days of Lent
they shall each receive a book from the library,
which they shall read straight through from the beginning.
These books are to be given out at the beginning of Lent.

But certainly one or two of the seniors should be deputed
to go about the monastery
at the hours when the sisters are occupied in reading
and see that there be no lazy sister
who spends her time in idleness or gossip
and does not apply herself to the reading,
so that she is not only unprofitable to herself
but also distracts others.
If such a one be found (which God forbid),
let her be corrected once and a second time;
if she does not amend,
let her undergo the punishment of the Rule
in such a way that the rest may take warning.

Moreover, one sister shall not associate with another
at inappropriate times.

REFLECTION

Lectio divina, sacred reading, is the Benedictine form of
contemplation, more ancient than many later forms.
Being so ancient, it comes with very few directions. Much
of its "method" has been developed and handed down by monastics over
the centuries since St. Benedict.

Even in that embellished form, it remains a very, very simple and
efficient means to contemplative prayer. One simply reads Scripture
or the Fathers (or Mothers!) slowly, reflectively, ruminating (like a
cow chewing its cud!) on each word and verse. As St. Romuald later
observed, one waits like a chick for whatever its mother gives it.

One does not read to get through the book. One reads to see if and
when the Holy Spirit calls us to higher prayer with a word or phrase
that strikes the heart. At that point, one should follow one's heart
and not worry about finishing the page! Cleared for takeoff!

It is interesting that St. Benedict weaves all these schedules of
contemplative reading and prayer together with his manual labor
concerns, without any ado. There's another example of the dignity and
holiness of work in a Benedictine theology. Our work, too, is prayer.
It must be.

We must, somehow, learn to be all prayer. That same
ruminative mindfulness that colors our lectio must color our labor as
well. It is a different form of attention, a different form of
prayer, but it is prayer nonetheless! Just ask any gardener or cook
with a mystical heart or, for that matter, any toilet cleaner or
diaper changer of the same ilk!

The Carmelites prescribe mental prayer, which should, with
recollection, spread throughout one's day. The hesychasts of Mount
Athos, Romania and Russia stress the Jesus Prayer, said vocally until
it becomes automatic in the heart at all times. Both of these are
more explicit methodologies, but the Benedictine aim is the same:
prayer without ceasing, prayer in choir and garden and cell, prayer
at reading and prayer at work. Mindfulness of God at all times is the
contemplative goal of all these systems.

This is just my own opinion, but I am inclined to think that the
Dominican concept of contemplation comes closest to our own, largely
because of their love of study. Study, for the Dominican, is often
very similar to lectio in the Benedictine scheme of things. Why?
Because the Dominican seeks Truth, and Jesus said: "I am the Truth."
A Dominican could be reading virtually anything and still know that
every bit of real, objective truth garnered from that reading would be yet
another shard, no matter how small, in the infinite mosaic of the
face of Christ. That is a mosaic none of us shall ever complete in
this life, but oh, how much more familiar He shall seem to us when we
meet Him because of it!

Maybe I'm just prejudiced, but I think that a Dominican education,
such as I had, is a wonderful preparation for Benedictine life.

Love and prayers,
Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA




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+PAX

Prayers, please, for the eternal rest of Fr. Leonard Leslie Alvey, 79, and for
all his family and all who mourn him.

Prayers for Charley F., prostate cancer, and for his family..

Prayers for Cathie, just found out she has cancer and given 15-18 months to
live, and for her family, devastated by the news.

Lord, help us all as You know and will. God's will is best. All is mercy and
grace. God is never absent, praise Him! Thanks so much. JL

March 30, July 30, November 29

Chapter 48: On the Daily Manual Labor

On Sundays, let all occupy themselves in reading,
except those who have been appointed to various duties.
But if anyone should be so negligent and shiftless
that she will not or cannot study or read,
let her be given some work to do
so that she will not be idle.

Weak or sickly sisters should be assigned a task or craft
of such a nature as to keep them from idleness
and at the same time not to overburden them or drive them away
with excessive toil.
Their weakness must be taken into consideration by the Abbess.

REFLECTION

The greatest mentor in my monastic life was Brother Patrick Creamer,
OSB, of St. Leo Abbey in Florida, who died in September, 2004,
nearly 90. I learned more from Patrick than I have from any other monk. He had
more influence on my life than any man other than my father. Say a prayer
for him. My debt to him is great and much of what I pass on to you I received
from Patrick first. I have long hoped that even in the slightest and most
occasional of ways, I could be a Patrick now and then to someone else.

Years ago, Brother Patrick told me: "Never judge yourself by others-
there will always be people who will do more than you and people who
do less." There's a very obvious corollary to that maxim: never judge
others by yourself, either! I have struggled for years to learn both.
I still have not succeeded, but I keep trying. Every time I remember
those words I am shamed at how many more times I forget them. I hope
and pray all of you are much better students of life than I am!

The Abbot is not the only one who has to see, really see weakness and
allow for it. All of us do. That's what it means to bear one
another's burdens as well as we can. If and when so-and-so finally
gets their act together, it is highly unlikely that they will be an
exact clone of someone so utterly perfect as ourselves! We can be so
self-centered that we unwittingly actually expect that to happen. If
we stop to look at how ludicrous such a thing is, we'll have to
laugh, because if we didn't, we'd cry.

God made individuals, tons of them. Their optimal state is going to
be just as individual, just as different , one from another. Hey,
that's the beauty of the mosaic, which would, after all, have all the
charm of a tiled floor if all the pieces were the same color and
boring shape...

It is not just the weakness of others we have to see. We have to see
our own, as well. How many people there are who may be
thinking: "When Jerome gets his ducks in a row, he'll be just like me."
Sorry, y'all. Ain't gonna happen, no more than you all are going to wind up (God
forbid!) looking frighteningly like me. Strengths and weakness are
the only tools we have to work with. If we don't even see them, they
won't be much good.

I confess that I do not know 10% of what my computer can do. I'll
probably never know most of its ability. That's often the case with
computers, but how tragic it is if we allow that to happen with
ourselves. That's why the monastic struggle points us to even deeper
self-examination, self-knowledge and humility.

Hey, a hard drive is neither here nor there in many senses, but a
human soul needs a LOT of disk scanning and defragmentation. There'd
better be a good anti-virus program, too, as well as lots of extra
memory! Fortunately, these things cost nowhere near what software
does. They were all bought for us at a tremendous price. Just ask the
One Who did that and He'll give you all the free downloads you could
ever need!

Love and prayers,

Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA


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+PAX

Prayers for the eternal rest of Fr. Marion, OSB and for all who mourn him.
Please pray for Ed, who is really sick with a critical infection around his
heart and for his family, especially the little ones who are taking it very
hard.

Lord, help us all as You know and will. God's will is best. All is mercy and
grace. God is never absent. Alleluia!
Thanks so much. JL

March 31, July 31, November 30

Chapter 49: On the Observance of Lent

Although the life of a monk
ought to have about it at all times
the character of a Lenten observance,
yet since few have the virtue for that,
we therefore urge that during the actual days of Lent
the brethren keep their lives most pure
and at the same time wash away during these holy days
all the negligences of other times.
And this will be worthily done
if we restrain ourselves from all vices
and give ourselves up to prayer with tears,
to reading, to compunction of heart and to abstinence.

During these days, therefore,
let us increase somewhat the usual burden of our service,
as by private prayers and by abstinence in food and drink.
Thus everyone of his own will may offer God
"with joy of the Holy Spirit" (1 Thess. 1:6)
something above the measure required of him.
From his body, that is
he may withhold some food, drink, sleep, talking and jesting;
and with the joy of spiritual desire
he may look forward to holy Easter.

Let each one, however, suggest to his Abbot
what it is that he wants to offer,
and let it be done with his blessing and approval.
For anything done without the permission of the spiritual father
will be imputed to presumption and vainglory
and will merit no reward.
Therefore let everything be done with the Abbot's approval.

REFLECTION

Because we read St. Benedict's 1500 year old Holy Rule with modern
eyes, it often seems harsh. To balance our perspective, we need to
see the radical nature of the Rule when written. Face it, folks, this
was most definitely a gentler Rule for European wannabes who could
never hack it in the Egyptian desert in their wildest dreams. His
introductory paragraph points out his plan of adaptation: "...since
few have the virtue for that..." Our founder was most certainly writing
for the struggling plodders of monasticism and he knew it. Keeping
that uppermost in our minds can be informatively humbling.

The Desert Fathers were not interested in mitigation in the
slightest. The early message of the desert was: "Get Lent to the max
or get lost!" They went FAR beyond Lenten and they did it all year,
without a break. Any who couldn't reach that ideal were sent away as
unsuited, not called. If we look carefully at this, perhaps we can
better see that, from the outset, St. Benedict's fatherly heart was
with the underdogs, the also rans, the strays and those that others
could not be bothered with. He must have felt at some point that
there HAD to be a way for the spiritually challenged to become
monastics. A millennium and a half later, we are still benefiting
from his attempts.

Hence, for us Benedictines, when the Evil One tempts us with his lies
like: "You could never do that! You could never be THAT holy!" our
response must be "Yeah, so what? Your point is...???" We have no clue
of how holy we can be. God alone knows that and God alone will lead
us and show us in ways we are quite unlikely to ever understand.
Whenever the demon of discouragement tells us we are far beneath this
Rule for beginners, we must shrug indifferently and move on, briefly
impressed for once with the Father of Lies' firm grasp on the obvious.

Of *COURSE* we are beneath this Rule, beneath any of the earlier
ones. Duh?!? We're Benedictines. Our Order was founded for people
like us. That should never, ever be a cause to stop trying, to give
up or quit. On the contrary, that fact should be a heartening
confirmation that we are EXACTLY where we belong, in the best
possible remedial education program for slow learners like us, right
where God wants us.

Like a mother to a crying child, devoid of hope, who moans "But I
CAN'T, I just can't!" St. Benedict is softly saying, "Well,
just do what you can and that will be OK." Get the picture? OK! Then
go out, play nice and do what you can today... Don't be surprised if
you find that God is increasing, sometimes imperceptibly, that "what
you can" little by little to heights of great holiness, which we will
achieve all but unawares and only with His help. Someday, we really
SHALL "run in the way...with hearts enlarged."

Love and prayers,

Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA



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+PAX

Prayers, today, for all afflicted with HIV and AIDS, it's World AIDS Day.

Lord, help us all as You know and will. God's will is best. All is mercy and
grace. God is never absent, praise Him! Thanks so much. JL

April 1, August 1, December 1

Chapter 50: On Sisters Who are Working Far From the Oratory or Are on
a Journey

Those sisters who are working at a great distance
and cannot get to the oratory at the proper time --
the Abbess judging that such is the case --
shall perform the Work of God
in the place where they are working,
bending their knees in reverence before God.

Likewise those who have been sent on a journey
shall not let the appointed Hours pass by,
but shall say the Office by themselves as well as they can
and not neglect to render the task of their service.

REFLECTION

Look, if you think your marriage vows take a powder while you're
traveling on business, chances are a lot of people pity your spouse.
There are jobs that we do not carry with us. We are not surgeons,
welders or toll booth ticket-takers at home- at least hopefully! But
marriage is not a job, it's a vocation and so is monastic life.
Vocations stay with one everywhere, at all times and places. One is
ALWAYS a spouse, always a parent, always a monastic.

Hey, it is World AIDS Day, and there are a lot of similarities
between monasticism done right and HIV. I should know- I've been HIV+
for  23 years and a monk for 20. For rather crass starters,
both get in your blood and if they do, there is no cure! Done right,
both are always with you. Since my diagnosis, even in my dreams,
I am always HIV+, never once have I dreamed of my current self
otherwise. I wish I could say exactly the same of monasticism, but
even there, my dreams that are not flashbacks are most usually about
Jerome, not my secular name, Phil!

Writ large across my heart are the letters "HIV" and I am still
working on making "OSB" stand out in equally high relief there! At
some point, if we are lucky, we realize that our vocation really is
who we've become.

We live in a secular society that urges us to follow our dreams.
Well, m'dears, I have swooned at the poetry in that one for more
decades than I care to admit, but it ain't always true. Why on earth
should we ascribe an infallibility to our own dreams that we are
unwilling under any but the most exceptionally extreme circumstances
to apply to anyone else? Whoops! There's a real passing chance our
dreams may be wrong, may have to be given up. I am living proof to
myself that fighting that surrender is terribly hard and just as
useless. Yes, choice often enters into whom we become, but not
always, and sometimes the things that become us are the ones we quite
pointedly have NOT chosen.

Many of us do not choose what life hands us. Some do not choose to be
parents, some choose one spouse only to find that person changes
horrifically later on and nobody in their right mind chooses to
become HIV+. Many, many things are in some ways forced upon us, but
those things can become fully graced things of wonder, if only we let
God work. If only we would trust Him... His Divine Mercy will triumph
over all, but we must trust Him. He knows, after all, what He is doing!
We often can only see His work in hindsight, looking back.

Love and prayers,

Jerome Leo, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org
Petersham, MA




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